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Frontispiece, Blaich's Three Industrial Nations. 

Opening of the Panama Canal 



THREE 
INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

AN INDUSTRIAL GEOGRAPHY OF 

ENGLAND, GERMANY, AND 

THE UNITED STATES 



BY 

LYDIA R. BLAICH 

SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, PUBLIC SCHOOLS 
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA 




AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO 



\ c \ 



Copyright, 191 5, 191 8, by 
LYDIA R. BLAICH. 

Copyright, 191 5, in Great Britain. 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS. 

E. P. I 



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'3 1918 
















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PREFACE 

Three Industrial Nations has been prepared for grammar 
grade pupils whose study of Geography in the intermediate 
classes has given them a sufficient basis for an understand- 
ing of the data herein contained. It assumes that man's 
industrial activity, growing out of his reaction on the 
earth's natural resources, is the chief subject of study in 
Geography. The book is, therefore, an elementary indus- 
trial text. 

During the last decade the public has asked that the 
schools lay stress on essentials, and that our courses prune 
away incidentals, seeing that the limitations of time and 
of the physical and mental powers of the child preclude 
the study of everything. Hence, instead of following the 
time-honored custom of treating all the corners of a conti- 
nent, important and otherwise, in a single volume, three 
of the leading nations of the earth have been chosen. 

The selection of the United States as one of the three 
is self-evident. England and Germany have been chosen 
as the others not only on account of their industrial effi- 
ciency and importance, but also because of their close racial 
relations to our own country. Each has remarkable char- 
acteristics and each has accomplished much to be proud of. 
Great Britain has compelled the admiration of the world by 
its victorious, service-rendering invasion into every quarter 
of the globe. Germany has excited the wonder of the 
world by its unparalleled reformation of industrial affairs 
under a strong centralized government, and by its sub- 



vi PREFACE 

sequent commercial activities in every foreign country. 
The United States has amazed the world with its unsur- 
passed development of its rich natural resources. 

In his " America's Interest in International Conditions," 
A. T. Mahan says: " The study of international interests 
is the one basis of sound policy for statesmen. This 
involves a wide knowledge of contemporary facts as well 
as power to appreciate them; but for a nation to exert 
its full weight in the world, such knowledge and appre- 
ciation must be widespread among its plain people also." 

It is hoped that the pupils will be helped to understand 
the enthusiasm of the distinctive national spirit of each 
country as it is presented ; and thereby so enlarge their 
personalities as to become consistently international, catch- 
ing from each nation the best it has to offer. We are 
more than citizens of the United States ; we are world 
citizens. In order that the children may serve their own 
country best they must receive a broad, intelligent, appre- 
ciative view of the highest modern spirit of each nation. 

This volume is presented to the boys and girls not as a 
memory text, but as a book to set them thinking. It is 
hoped that the recitations which center around it will be 
symposiums in which pupils and teacher, in the presence 
of the open book, will read, question, explain, enlarge, 
illustrate ; and always look up in the atlas every place 
mentioned in the text at the time it is under discussion, 
until by and by these geographical names will become 
household friends. 

Furthermore, it is hoped that when the study of this 
book is finished, the young people will be at least a little 
better prepared to serve the larger problems and higher 
ideals of the Greater United States of to-morrow. 

LYDIA R. BLAICH. 



MAP OF 
THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

British Empire, German Empire, United States 

Their colonial possessions, and the principal commercial routes 
and telegraph lines of the world. 




L.L. P0ATES CO., N.Y. 

00° Longitude 120° East from_150° Greenwich 180° 



150° Longitude 120° 



JIAP OF THE WORLD 

SHOWING 

BRITISH EMPIRE, GERMAN EMPIRE 

AND UNITED STATES, 

COLONIES, ETC., PRINCIPAL 

COMMERCIAL ROUTES AND 

TELEGRAPH LINES 



SCALE OF GEOGRAPHICAL MILES 

On the Equator 

500 1000 1500 2000 

/ On the 30th Parallel \ 

A * i * ^ 

/0 500 1000 15Q0 20W 

On the GOtVi Parallel 



\^-T> Baffin 

^pP> Bay 




GO Greenwich 30 



0" Longitude 30° East from CO ° Greenwich 



COLONIES, ETC. 

British Empire 
Bj German Empire 
H United States 



COMMUNICATIONS 

Principal steamship routes. The heavier blue 
lines show the most important ocean routes. 
Figures indicate the distance in geographical 
miles "between places marked thus ® 
Submarine telegraph cables. 

_ Principal railroads. 

..Caravan routes. 



IX 



CONTENTS 

PART I. THE WORLD'S INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. A Trip around the World in Our Town . . i 
II. The Land, the Arena of Industrial Progress . 7 

III. The Ocean, an Important Factor in Industrial 

Progress 15 

IV. Man's Development of the Resources of Land 

and Water 25 

PART II. THE BRITISH EMPIRE 

V. England, the Foremost Commercial Nation on 

Earth 35 

VI. England, a Leader in the World's Industry . 48 
VII. England, the Founder of the World's Greatest 

Colonial Empire 70 

VIII. Political and Social Conditions in the United 

Kingdom . 101 

PART III. THE GERMAN EMPIRE 

IX. How Germany Cast Off Serfdom and Poverty . 109 

X. Modern Germany 122 

XI. Political and Social Conditions in Modern Ger- 
many . . . -154 

PART IV. THE YOUNG INDUSTRIAL GIANT OF THE 

WEST 

XII. Natural Assets of the United States . .176 

XIII. Field Crops of the United States . . -183 

x 



CONTENTS 



XI 



CHAPTER PAGE 

*X1V. Vegetables and Fruits 203 

XV. The Forests of the United States . . .214 

XVI. Domestic Animals of the United States . . 223 

XVII. Fisheries of the United States .... 244 
XVIII. Mineral Wealth of the United States. The 

Metals 257 

XIX. Mineral Wealth of the United States. Non- 
metallic Minerals . . . . . 274 
XX. Industrial Miracles of the American Factory . 286 
XXI. Domestic Exchange of Goods in the United 

States . . . 305 

XXII. The Foreign Commerce of the United States . 332 

XXIII. Colonial Possessions of the United States . 343 

XXIV. The Material, Social, and Political Status of 

the United States To-day . . . -353 



TABLES 
INDEX . 



359 
362 



LIST OF MAPS 

PAGE 

The World, showing British Empire, German Empire, United States, 

Principal Commercial Routes, and Telegraph Lines . . viii, ix 

British Isles — Political 36 

United Kingdom — Industrial Map 50 

India . . . . . . . . < . . . .72 

Australia ............ 76 

New Zealand . . . .79 

Africa 82 

Dominion of Canada 88, 89 

Germany — Political . . . 120 

Agriculture 130 

Minerals . . . 134 

United States— Political ........ 174,175 

Rainfall 180 

Distribution of Corn . . . . . 184 

Wheat-growing Areas and Chief Flour-milling 

Centers 186 

Cotton-growing Region and Chief Centers of Cotton 

Manufacture 191 

Forest Regions 214 

National Forests and National Parks . . . 220 

Distribution of Cattle and Principal Meat-packing 

Centers . . .224 

Distribution of Swine 230 

Distribution of Sheep 233 

Iron Ore Regions 257 

Alaska 268 

Distribution of Mineral Fuels ..... 274 

Transportation Lines 308, 309 

Cuba 343 

Porto Rico . 345 

Panama Canal Zone 347 

Hawaiian Islands ....... 348 

Philippine Islands 350 



THREE INDUSTRIAL 

NATIONS 



THE WORLD'S INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 

CHAPTER I 
A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD IN OUR TOWN 

The Kinship of the World. — Did it ever occur to you 
how much akin the whole world is ? The familiar articles 
all around you speak of the service of your far-away, 
unknown brothers and sisters. 

The Parlor. — Look about your parlor. The rug on the 
floor may have come from Turkey. The Japanese print 
adorning the wall traveled thousands of miles across the 
Pacific from Yokohama to San Francisco, before it came 
to your house. The mahogany of the piano came from 
forests in Mexico or Central America. The bulbs which 
have grown into the beautiful tulips on the stand came 
from Holland. 



2 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

The Dining Room. — The tablecloth of Irish linen came 
direct from Belfast. The dishes of Haviland china were 
made in France. The coffee very likely came from Brazil, 
for that country produces three fourths of the world's 
supply ; and the sugar probably was imported from Cuba 
or Hawaii, for these islands supply much of the world's 









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Bleaching linen, Belfast, Ireland. 



A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD IN OUR TOWN 



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An ostrich farm. 



sugar. The Swiss cheese was made among the famous 
Alps. The Malaga grapes were grown in Spain. These, 
and many other things, were brought by steamers and 
trains from distant lands in order to add to your pleasure 
and welfare. 

The Kitchen. — If they could speak, the kitchen utensils 
would tell many interesting stories. The enameled granite 
ware might tell a German tale, and the carving knife might 
speak of busy Sheffield in England. The cork in the vine- 
gar jug could entertain you for an hour with the story 
of the Spanish cork tree. 

The Wardrobe. — Father's cheviot suit was made of 
cloth that was woven at Manchester, England, from 
wool of sheep that fed on the hills of Scotland. The 
threads in mother's silk dress were spun by silkworms that 
fed on Chinese mulberry leaves. The plume on her hat 
came from the famous ostrich farms of South Africa. 
Sister's fancy hair ribbon, with the gay flowers and butter- 



4 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

flies woven into it, came from France. Her lace collar was 
made by Belgian women in Brussels. 

Ornaments and Toys. — The diamond in mother's ring 
rested years ago in South African soil. One day it was 
picked up and shipped to Amsterdam, Holland, and from 
there was sent to an American jeweler. Baby's toys were 
imported from Germany, and the ivory handle of your 
paper knife came from the tusk of an African elephant. 

A Walk through Our Town. — Let us walk along the 
streets of our town. If our eyes are wide open, we may 
see many people of other countries. Those Italians digging 
a sewer came from sunny Italy. A few blocks away some 
negroes are paving the street. Their ancestors were 
brought from Africa centuries ago. The Chinaman in the 
laundry at our right, and his cousin who has the chop suey 
restaurant next door, once cultivated rice fields in Asia. 

The Department Store. — By and by we enter a ten- 
story department store, where we find French kid gloves, 
German yarn, Swiss cuckoo clocks, Austrian glassware, 
Italian corals, English china, Russian leather goods, Egyp- 
tian dates, Chinese tea, Japanese screens, and Persian rugs. 

The Circus Parade. — As we leave the store, a circus 
parade passes by. Here are the elephant, camel, and tiger 
from Asia ; the rhinoceros, hippopotamus, monkey, giraffe, 
lion, and antelope from equatorial Africa; the anteater 
and boa from South America ; the cockatoo, lyre-bird, and 
kangaroo from Australia. Each of these animals had a long 
trip across the seas before it reached our town. 

The Public Library. — After the parade has passed we 
enter the public library. On the shelves we find many 
books written in strange languages, — French, Russian, 
German, Hebrew, and Spanish. They were printed in 



A TRIP AROUND THE WORLD IN OUR TOWN 5 

Paris, Petrograd, Leipzig, and Madrid. Although we 
may not be able to read them, we begin to realize how 
civilized men the world over are busy thinking. 

Our Service to the World. — Is it not wonderful how 
much the nations of the world have given of their products, 
their labor, their people, their words, their thoughts, their 
culture and refinement to us that we may live good and 





Selling rugs, Persia. 



happy lives? Now what do we give the world in return 
for these many services? Fortunately, ours is a wealthy 
land and we have many blessings which we gladly share 
with others. We send to our brother nations cotton, iron 
and steel, wheat and flour, and petroleum. Our inventions 
also find their way into foreign towns the world over, — 
reapers, plows, cotton gins, sewing machines, telephones, 
phonographs, and typewriters. The books written by our 



6 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

great thinkers are translated into foreign languages; for 
instance, the speeches of Abraham Lincoln, the Declara- 
tion of Independence, the poems of Longfellow, the essays 
of Emerson, and the Indian tales of Cooper. Not a few are 
the lessons of alertness in business, of daring in times of 
hardship and difficulty, as well as of large-hearted hospital- 
ity that foreigners have learned from the young Republic. 
The Value of Exchange. — This exchange of products is 
called commerce. It is one of the chief means of industrial 
progress and civilization. The wants of the Indian, as 
Columbus found him, were few. His food consisted of 
game and berries found in the forests, and maize cultivated 
by the squaws. His clothes were simple ; his house was a 
tent of skins. Each family supplied its own needs. There 
was little trade between tribes ; and as for exchange of prod- 
ucts across the seas, such a thing was altogether unknown. 
How different is the case with civilized man. He draws 
upon the whole world for necessities and luxuries. Many 
advantages of modern life would be impossible were it not 
for this giving and taking which goes on between the nations. 

Questions and Exercises 

i. Study your own neighborhood, and make a list of products 
that have come from other parts of the world. 

2. Point out on the map or globe all the places mentioned in 
this chapter. 

3. Visit a department store, and find out from what places 
its stock has come. 

4. On the globe trace the ocean voyages which six articles in 
your home made in order to reach you. 

5. Visit the place in which your father or some other relative 
works. What articles made there are sent abroad? Where? 
What foreign people then are served by that establishment ? 



CHAPTER II 



THE LAND, THE ARENA OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 

Man, a Land Creature. — Although the ocean is so in- 
spiring and helpful, man is always glad to put his foot 
upon land again after 
a trip on the seas. 
For man is a land crea- 
ture. He may roam 
on the ocean for weeks 
and even months ; but 
by and by he must 
turn in again to the 
harbor for provisions, 
if for no other reasons. 
No man has ever been 
known to spend all his 
days upon the water, 
while billions of folks 
have lived and died 
upon the land without 
one glimpse of the sea. 

Features of the 
Land. — The land pre- 
sents a great variety 
of features. There are 
long stretches of soft 

green meadows ; hills where sheep and cattle roam ; moun- 
tains covered with dark, deep forests, and honeycombed with 
rich mines; canyons with walls of exquisite colors, exceeding 

blaich's nations. 2 7 




A canyon. 



8 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

in beauty anything the mind of man can imagine; narrow 
chasms with steep, green-clad slopes, and silvery streams 
flowing at the bottom; volcanoes breathing out ashes and 
lava; abrupt precipices over which gigantic waterfalls 
tumble; unlimited fields of golden grain; majestic snow- 
clad peaks; and boundless plains of sand, as yet unfruit- 
ful, awaiting the wisdom of man to discover their usefulness. 

Land and Water. — The water covers seven tenths of 
the globe, while the land occupies only three tenths. Over 
two thirds of the land is north of the equator, so that 
nearly half of the Northern Hemisphere 4s land, while 
more than four fifths of the Southern Hemisphere is water. 
In the order of size, the continents rank as follows: Asia, 
Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Aus- 
tralia. There is considerable difference in coast lines, 
which in the past have had much to do with the develop- 
ment of nations. Europe is the most irregular, followed 
in order by Asia, North America, South America, Africa, 
and Australia. In general, those countries that have been 
most closely connected with the sea through their irregular 
coasts have made the greatest progress. 

Man's Progress Due to Two Causes. — The progress man 
makes is dependent chiefly upon two great causes ; the nat- 
ural conditions of his surroundings, and the nature of man 
himself. The resources that nature supplies vary greatly 
in different localities, both as to quantity and quality ; and 
the talents of men differ also. These are among the rea- 
sons why there are different degrees of civilization. 

Progress Depends on Soils. — Man cannot exist without 
food, clothing, and shelter. For most of these he must 
look to the soil. Grains, vegetables, fruits, textile plants, 
and trees grow out of the ground, and the abundance of 



THE LAND, THE ARENA OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 9 

plant life depends very largely upon the fertility of the 
soil. Some sections, like the Mississippi Valley, are unusu- 
ally fertile, and become the homes of progressive peoples. 
Others, like the Sahara, with their unlimited stretches of 
sand, support very little population. 




Life on a desert. 



Climate Determines Progress. — Without light, heat, 
and rain, the soil is unable to produce life of any kind. 
Sunshine is overabundant in some places and too scant in 
'others to produce the best results. In the equatorial belts 
of South America, Africa, and Asia, excessive sunlight and 
rain produce rank vegetation ; and the dense forests and 
jungles are the homes of many large, wild animals. The 
heat and moisture of these regions weaken the people, and 
as a result, the plant life remains uncontrolled, the animals 
are not domesticated, and there is a general lack of indus- 
trial enterprise. Life remains primitive and progress is slow. 



IO 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



The frigid zone is still more unfortunate. Here the sun- 
shine is too limited. The darkness lasts long and the cold 




Eskimo family, Alaska. 

is intense. Moisture comes in the form of snow and ice. 
The ground is frozen several feet deep — a serious handicap 
to mining and quarrying. In the absence of quarries and 
trees, a very important building material consists of blocks 
of ice. The Eskimo supports himself by hunting wild ani- 
mals. The flesh of these animals is used for food, the skins 
for clothing, and the bones are used to make furniture. 
There are no factories, no surplus products for commerce, 
no schools, and no signs of advanced civilization. 

The temperate regions of the northern and southern 
continents are best for human development. There the 



THE LAND, THE ARENA OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS II 

heat, light, and rainfall enable man to produce the largest 
and best crops. The climate is varied, so that man is com- 
pelled to provide in seasons of plenty for the months when 
nature demands a rest. The hard labor required, together 
with the good returns it yields, develops man to the highest 
plane. In the temperate belt are found the busiest farms, 
factories, harbors, and trade routes ; and here the greatest 
industrial nations have been developed. 

Winds play an important part in man's welfare. They 
distribute heat and cold in such a way as to bring profit or 
loss to man. It is the winds that carry life-giving vapors 
from the ocean to the land. Comparatively few people 
can live in places that the winds visit with a dry, hot 
breath, as in some parts of Arabia. Where the breezes 
spread their balmy, moisture-laden wings, as they do over 
western Europe, there thrive the foremost nations. 

Surface, a Factor in Progress. — The height of the land 
varies from depressions below the sea level to elevations of 
several miles. Swamps are a drawback to industry. Low, 



..? ..<•."- 




A farm in a level plain. 



12 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



level plains are, on the whole, places where men thrive best. 
Hills and mountains are often the scenes of prosperous 
communities because the grass gives rise to dairying, or the 
trees afford excellent timber. Mountains often keep cold 
winds from a territory that would otherwise be exposed, 
thereby giving to some lands special opportunities for 
progress. Such is the case with the Alps, which insure 
Italy a semitropical climate. Mountains increase the 
productivity of the soil by condensing the moisture of rain- 
laden winds. High peaks, such as those of the Rockies, 
Sierras, and Cascades, are too cold to be centers of industry ; 
yet their snow-covered sides are reservoirs of moisture from 
which thousands of fertile acres below may be irrigated, and 
thus become the homes of many families. 




© E. R. Shepard. 



Mt. Stephen, Rocky Mountains, Canada. 



THE LAND, THE ARENA OF INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 1 3 

Minerals Contribute to Progress. — Regions rich in coal, 
iron, gold, and stone are busy centers of industry, and sup- 
port some of the largest populations. The supremacy of 
the foremost nations of to-day is largely due to their posses- 
sion of an abundance of coal and iron, which are the two 
most useful minerals. 

Rivers and Lakes Promote Development. — The water on 
the land, as well as that of the ocean, is of great value in 
industrial progress. Rivers and lakes supply fish for food. 
Without streams, successful farming would be out of the 
question. Rivers are quite as helpful in draining as in 
watering the land. Factories are run by power furnished 
by waterfalls. And, finally, waterways furnish cheaper 
transportation than railroads. 

Industrial Progress Depends on Man Himself. — The 
inherent qualities in men themselves are the most impor- 
tant factor in their progress. Thus far the white race has 
taken the lead in civilization. The characteristics which 
have given the white man his preeminence are love of 
work, ability to endure hardships, love of adventure, a 
desire for wandering, a spirit of independence, inventive 
genius, and the power to adapt himself to new conditions. 
These qualities have given the world the busiest work- 
shops, the most active trade, and the best governments. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Name several parts of the earth where there are long 
stretches of soft, green meadows ; large, sandy plains. Locate 
some canyons in the United States. Do you know of any 
volcanoes? Where are they? How far would you have to 
travel from your home to reach snow-clad peaks? In what 
direction would you go ? 



14 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

2. Trace the outlines of all the continents on the map. Make 
a list of chief coast waters of each. How do the coasts compare 
in number of indentations ? 

3. Draw a line to represent the equator. Sketch the outline 
of each continent that is wholly or partly north of the equator. 
Of each one south of it. Compare the land masses of the two 
hemispheres as to extent. 

4. Make a collection of pictures of the races of men. Indi- 
cate on the map the home of each. 

5. What nations control Africa ? Australia? 



CHAPTER III 

THE OCEAN, AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN 
INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 

The Sea, a Mighty Phenomenon. — The mightiest natu- 
ral phenomenon on earth is the sea, whose waters cover 
more than seven tenths of its surface. The greatest depth 
of the ocean (near the Philippines) is about six miles, only 
a little greater than the greatest height of mountains (Mt. 
Everest in the Himalayas). Its average depth, however, 
is five times the average height of the land. Therefore 
the volume of the ocean is thirteen times that of the 
land above sea level. The largest ocean, the Pacific, is 
four times as large as the largest continent, Asia. The At- 
lantic is twice as large as both Americas ; the Indian Ocean 
could spread over Africa twice and still have ample water 



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Breakers at Atlantic City, New Jersey. 

15 



1 6 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

left to cover Australia; and the Arctic Ocean is larger 
than Europe. The Antarctic lands and waters have no 
industrial importance. 

Great Ocean Distances. — The oceans are so wide that 
the distances across them are measured in terms of thou- 
sands of miles. Across the Atlantic, for instance, from New 
York to Liverpool, the distance is 3,042 miles; from New 
York to Cape Town, 6,795 miles. Across the Indian 
Ocean, from Aden, Arabia, to Melbourne, it is 6,489 miles. 
Pacific voyages are still longer : 4,202 miles from Yokohama 
to Vancouver; 9,452 miles from Manila to Panama via 
Honolulu ; 10,076 miles from Hong Kong to the southern 
point of South America. It takes large steamers eighteen 
days to go from Hong Kong to Vancouver ; nineteen from 
Colon to Liverpool; twenty from Aden to Albany, Aus- 
tralia ; twenty from Rio de Janeiro to Southampton ; and 
twenty-five from Sydney to Panama. 

Unity of the Waters of the Earth. — Man stands in awe 
of the vastness of the waters of the earth. The close con- 
nection of all their parts is no less remarkable. You can 
pass from ocean to ocean without knowing where one begins 
and the other ends. Every indentation along any coast 
opens into the deep sea. With the exception of salt lakes 
and their tributaries, every lake, stream, and brooklet 
hurries toward and ultimately reaches the ocean — the all- 
father of waters. The ocean, then, is an unbroken connect- 
ing link joining nations. 

The Ocean, a Carrier of Commerce. — The ocean, which 
was formerly a dreaded barrier separating countries, has 
recently become a friendly highroad connecting them. In 
our time it makes possible busy workshops, a wonderful 
world commerce, and the universal brotherhood of man. 



THE OCEAN, A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 17 



The sea is international property, and is thus a great high- 
way that is open to all nations. Four fifths of the trade 
between nations is carried on the sea. A ship can be moved 
through water with less power than a train of the same 
weight can be moved on a railroad, and therefore the 
transportation of freight by water is cheaper than by land. 
Moreover, ships require no ballasted roadbed to give 
security, no wooden ties to support the weight, and no iron 
rails to guide the passage. The saltness of sea water 
lowers the freezing point below that of fresh water ; and, 
as a result, the 
harbors on the 
seacoast, except 
those in very 
cold latitudes, 
are open to com- 
merce through- 
out the year, 
while the har- 
bors on lakes of 
fresh water are, 
in many instances, ice-bound during the winter. 

In the sea there are periodic movements of the water 
called tides. These are great waves of water rising and 
falling twice each day, usually with an interval of twelve 
hours and twenty-five minutes between high tides. As 
these waves reach the coast they push the water up the 
rivers, thus making a considerable increase in the depth 
of water. Thereby ships are enabled to steam many miles 
upstream. This gives inland cities, like Hamburg, Liver- 
pool, and London, excellent oceanic trade advantages, while 
they are, at the same time, protected from coast storms. 




A modern steamship. 



i8 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Ocean Products. — The ocean not only carries commerce, 
but it also yields many important products. Millions 
of pounds of fish are annually lifted from its depths. The 
chief food fishes are cod, herring, salmon, and mackerel. 
Whales, seals, walruses, and sea otters are other sea ani- 
mals, yielding such products as oils, furs, and ivory. Much 
wealth is represented in the annual catch of oysters con- 
sumed by man. The greatest fishing grounds in the world 
are off the west coast of Europe, the Atlantic coast of 
North America, and the Pacific shores from San Francisco 
to Alaska. Hundreds of thousands of Europeans and 
Americans are engaged in the fishing industries. 





A fishing fleet. 



Seaweeds yield valuable fertilizers, iodine, and other 
chemicals. The Chinese cure certain of the weeds and use 
them as food. Sponges are found off the Bahama and Flor- 



THE OCEAN, A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 19 

ida coasts. Pearls are gathered at Ceylon ; amber is found 
along the shores of the Baltic ; and coral is obtained from 
various tropical islands. 

The Source of the Rain. — A large amount of water in 
the form of vapor rises from the sea, and is wafted by the 
wind to the land, where it falls as rain or snow. Thus the 
ocean contributes the moisture that is necessary to plants, 
animals, and man, and so helps to create the food, the 
lumber, and the textile products which later it assists in 
distributing. 

The Oceans are International Property. — The oceans 
belong to all nations. Beyond the three-mile limit, people 
of any country may fish and trade to their hearts' content. 
Each nation is entitled to all the space it can possibly use. 

The Ocean, a Factor in National Greatness. — Enter- 
prising nations through their ocean commerce have amassed 
great wealth. England is said to have increased hers a 
thousandfold in the nineteenth century. Most of the 
seafaring nations have acquired large colonial possessions. 
This has been true of the Romans, the Spaniards, and the 
Portuguese in the past. At present the people of the North 
Sea countries, the United States, and Japan are the great 
ocean travelers. The English outstrip all other nations in 
colonial enterprise, as well as in oceanic trade. Our coun- 
try has the oceanic spirit and is to-day England's greatest 
commercial rival. By overcoming the dangers and hard- 
ships of the sea, seafaring people have developed great 
physical strength, unflinching courage, and keen intellect. 

The Indian Ocean. — While we Americans take little 
interest in the Indian Ocean, wide-awake European coun- 
tries fully appreciate its value as a carrier of merchan- 
dise which passes through the Mediterranean Sea and the 



20 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Suez Canal on the way between Europe and Asia, Africa, or 
Australia. The many ships of many lands that sail over 
this tropical sea give proof of the brotherhood of man in 
the Eastern Hemisphere. In addition to them, the cables 
at the bottom of the Indian Ocean give to the people of 
far-away Australia interests in common with those of Asia 
and Africa. 

The Atlantic Ocean. — At the present time, the Atlantic 
Ocean is the world's greatest international trade artery. 
This is due to several causes. It connects the most capable 
industrial nations. The most extensive land slopes of 
Europe and the Americas face this body of water. Many 
of the world's largest and commercially most active rivers, 
such as the Mississippi, the Amazon, the Nile, and the 
Rhine, carry their merchandise to the Atlantic. Much of 
this ocean lies within the temperate zone. The smaller 
width of the Atlantic as compared with the Pacific makes 




Landing an ocean cable, Coney Island, New York. 



THE OCEAN, A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 21 

freight charges less. No other ocean is so well supplied with 
safe natural harbors. There are seventeen transoceanic 
cables across the Atlantic, whereas only two connect the 
opposite shores of the Pacific. 

Of all the arms of the Atlantic, the North Sea and the 
Mediterranean have been the most prominent international 
trade routes, because of the powerful nations adjoining 
them. In our own time no other body of water is so 
crowded with steamship lines and submarine cables as the 
North Sea. In ancient times, when the Mediterranean 
was the center of the known world, it was by far the most 
important commercial waterway. It carried the navies 
of Egypt, Phoenicia, Greece, Carthage, and Rome. The 
decadence of these powers and the rise of northern and 
western Europe caused it to decline in importance. But 
with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 Europe and Asia 
were brought closer together, and a mighty impetus was 
thereby given to Mediterranean business. 

The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea will un- 
doubtedly rival in importance the European arms of the 
Atlantic on account of the Panama Canal. 

The Pacific Ocean. — Many of the highest mountain 
chains in the world lie near the Pacific. The shore line of 
this ocean is strikingly regular, and hence there is a scarcity 
of good harbors. Before the invention of the steamship, 
the great width of the Pacific deterred man from using that 
ocean freely. 

Recently, however, the Pacific Ocean has been gaining 
rapidly as a rival of the Atlantic. Great powers such as 
Japan, Russia, the United States, and the British Em- 
pire are making it an important commercial highway. 
Fast steamers and wireless telegraphy are diminishing the 



22 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



distance between the Americas and Asia. Asiatic countries 
are awakening to modern progress. Their productivity is 
growing, and the wants of the people are becoming more 
varied, which means more business for the Pacific. More- 
over, the United States is just well started in the develop- 
ment of her western resources. Steamship lines on the 
Pacific Ocean are growing in number, and before long more 
cables will be laid in its depths. At present, there is one 
long American cable connecting San Francisco with Hawaii 
and Manila ; a British cable between Vancouver, Canada, 
and Sydney, Australia ; and a few minor lines connecting 
Australia and New Zealand with Asia and near-by islands. 
As the Pacific becomes a more prominent international 

highway, its thou- 
sands of islands will 
prove valuable trade 
centers. 

Steamships. — 
Only a little more 
than one hundred 
years ago, Robert 
Fulton, an American, 
built the first suc- 
cessful steamboat, in 
which he steamed up 
the Hudson. All the 
world looked on in 
amazement at this 
Clermont, in spite of 
the fact that it was 
so small, so slow, and 
so clumsy; for did 




The Clermont. 



THE OCEAN, A FACTOR IN INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS 23 




Library of a large steamship. 



it not travel by 
steam, and was it 
not independent of 
the wind ? Since the 
building of the Cler- 
mont, steamship con- 
struction and travel 
have made astonish- 
ing progress. Fifty 
years ago an ocean 
voyage meant weeks 
of wretchedness and 
perils. Now it means 
comfort and com- 
parative safety. 
Shipbuilders have raced with one another in constructing 
the fleetest, most sumptuous ocean palaces. We are 
living in the age of the five-day trip from Europe to 
America. Ships are now fitted out with elaborate kitchens, 
fine dining rooms, beautiful reception halls, elegant 
drawing-rooms, comfortable bedrooms, convenient eleva- 
tors, writing rooms, libraries, modern bathrooms, swimming 
pools, and concert halls. The general assembly rooms are 
decorated with beautiful paintings and sculptures. 

There are many steamship lines. Those most familiar 
to us are the Cunard, White Star, North- German Lloyd, 
Hamburg- American, Pacific Mail, Japan Mail, and the 
Oriental. One of the largest steamships afloat at present 
carries more than five thousand passengers and enough 
freight to fill a train of cars forty-four miles in length. It 
is nine stories high above the water fine — a real floating 
skyscraper. This vessel has private dining rooms, a tea 
blaich's nations. — 3 



24 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

garden, palm gardens, and sun parlors. Telephone service 
connects the rooms so that persons may communicate 
with one another without leaving their staterooms. This 
ship has powerful wireless telegraph apparatus, which 
enables it to send and receive messages across the width 
of the Atlantic ; so it is always in direct communication 
with the land. Ocean travel has become as cheap, com- 
fortable, and rapid as land travel. No wonder that the 
sea no longer separates, but rather unites, the peoples of 
the earth. Americans may rejoice that their country is 
most favorably situated with reference to the two most im- 
portant oceans. 

Questions and Exercises 

i. Visit a steamship agency. Inquire the cost of a passage 
across the Atlantic from New York to Liverpool ; of a similar 
ticket from San Francisco to Yokohama. Explain difference 
in prices. 

2. Get a map of steamship lines and play the game of tracing 
vessels from port to port. 

3. Point out on the globe every place mentioned in this 
chapter. 

4. On an outline map of the hemispheres, designate the places 
where the various ocean harvests are gathered. 

5. Make a list of the chief indentations of the Atlantic Ocean. 
Of those of the Pacific. Chief harbors of each. 

6. How much shorter is the trip between New York and 
Valparaiso, Chile, by way of the Panama Canal than byway of 
Cape Horn ? 

7. Find out, if you can, the cost per word of a cablegram 
from any European port to any American port. Study a cable- 
gram code. 

8. What advantages has the wireless over the cable ? What 
disadvantages ? 



CHAPTER IV 

MAN'S DEVELOPMENT OF THE RESOURCES OF 
LAND AND WATER 

The World, a Great Workshop. — Agriculture, mining, 
manufacture, and commerce are the leading industries by 
which man secures and prepares the resources of the earth 
for his own use. In all the industrial activities there is 
constant progress. The invention of time-saving devices, 
the irrigation of deserts, the draining of swamps, the harness- 
ing of waterfalls, and the improvement of rivers are some 
of the ways by which the earth is being converted into a 
better home for man. 

Agriculture. — At first, man obtained his food from wild 
plants and animals. Later, he began to domesticate them. 
When seeds were planted in cultivated ground, when the 
growing crop was cared for, and then harvested and stored 
for future use, a great advance was made. The herding 
of domestic animals on natural grass lands may be even an 
earlier form of farming than the cultivation of plants. 
Century by century man improved his methods of agricul- 
ture. New plants were cultivated and new animals do- 
mesticated ; and more and more of the earth was brought 
under cultivation. It will prove interesting to make a list 
of the most important products obtained by farming. 

Reclamation of Deserts. — By irrigation large areas of 
desert lands have been changed to fertile farm lands. 
Snow-covered peaks in Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, California, 

25 



26 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

and other states are the fountain heads of rivers whose 
waters of late years have been tapped and sent in irrigation 
flumes to thirsty valleys. The water supply is controlled 




An irrigation canal, Egypt. 

by large reservoirs built among the mountains. The result 
is that millions and millions of bushels of grain, apples, 
peaches, nuts, lemons, and oranges have been produced in 
what were once desert lands. We owe this extra wealth 
to the brain of man, who discovered how to turn these 
waste lands into fruitful gardens. Large areas in Spain, 
Italy, Egypt, India, and Australia also are irrigated. 

In some regions artesian wells bring to the surface the 
water from underground supplies. Large areas in Texas, 
South Dakota, and other western states are irrigated by 
these flowing wells. In places where the water does not 
reach the surface in the wells, it is pumped up by engines 
and windmills, and thus made available for irrigation. In 
the oases of the Sahara desert the underground water rises 
to the surface in natural wells, and date palms and cereals 
grow in the moist earth. Perhaps by means of wells the 
Sahara may some day become a fruitful paradise. 



DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES OF LAND AND WATER 27 

Drainage of Marsh Lands. — In contrast with the dry 
regions are others that are water soaked and flooded. Such 
was the condition of nearly half of the country of the 
Netherlands, much of which lies below the level of the sea. 
The Dutch turned the unhealthful marshes into rich grass 
lands by constructing drainage canals and great sea walls 
to keep the water out. On the meadows, which have been 
wrested from the ocean, fine cattle are raised, and dairying 
is an important industry on these recovered lands. Large 
quantities of butter and cheese are exported. The United 
States has many swamps that need to be drained. The 
levees built along the Mississippi have reclaimed thousands 




© Detroit Publishing Co. 

A drainage canal in the Everglades, Florida. 



of acres. Yet there remain more than 75,000,000 acres 
of fertile lands in the United States covered by water and 
rank vegetation, waiting for man to draw great wealth out 
of them. 



28 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

The Beginning of the Clothing Industry. — In cold re- 
gions, man required clothes. He began by using the skins 
of animals for this purpose. By and by he learned to make 
cloth from wool and fibrous plants, from which better gar- 
ments could be made. 

Mining. — To weave the fibers into cloth, and to plant 
and harvest the crops were difficult tasks in the beginning, 
owing to the lack of proper tools. But man, the worker, 
is also the thinker. Year by year, and century by century, 
his senses grew keener and his brain more and more alert. 
He found the minerals of the earth and learned to use them. 
Iron was used to make looms and reapers ; coal, petroleum, 
and gas were burned for heat and light; building stones 
were quarried for houses ; and gold, silver, and precious 
stones were fashioned into costly ornaments. 

Manufacturing. — Thousands of mills, furnaces, and fac- 
tories in almost all parts of the world give proof of the 
importance of manufacturing. Iron and steel products, 
lumber, furniture, bricks and other clay products, flour, 
and dressed meats are some of the leading products of 
this industry. If we stop to make a list of all the articles 
that we have seen in houses, on farms, in streets, in stores, 
and in factories we may get some idea of the great number 
and variety of manufactured products. 

Commerce. — At first, commerce consisted of barter ; 
that is, the exchange of one article for another. When 
money came into use the exchange of goods by buying and 
selling was far more convenient than barter. Commerce 
not only includes the buying and selling of products, but 
also the transportation of goods; and with the building 
of railroads and modern steamships commerce developed 
very rapidly. To-day carloads of goods move quickly 



DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES OF LAND AND WATER 29 

across the continents and ships loaded with goods glide 
noiselessly from land to land over the trackless seas. The 
nations are vying with one another in building railroads 
and ocean steamships. Modern commerce also depends 
on rapid communication for making business transactions. 
Telegraphs and Telephones. — The whole world has 
become a great market, and people hundreds and even 
thousands of miles apart often desire to trade with one 
another. A century ago business communications were 




A modern passenger train. 

made by letters that were carried by men on horseback or 
on stages. To-day letters are carried on fast mail trains ; 
but trains are not sufficiently swift for modern commerce. 
By telegraph a message can be sent in an hour or two over 
a distance that would require a day for a fast train. 

In 1866 the first cable was laid across the bottom of the 
Atlantic. Now messages from New York to London, 
which would require over four days for delivery if carried 
on the fastest ship, can be sent in less than two hours by 
cable. Still more recently the telephone has contributed 



3° 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES OF LAND AND WATER 31 



its service to the commercial world. By the long-distance 
telephone people one thousand miles apart may speak to 
one another. The telegraph and telephone require wires 
for their operation. A few years ago Marconi perfected 
a system of sending messages without wire. By means of 
the wireless system, stations several thousand miles apart 
can communicate with one another ; and ships in the middle 
of the Atlantic are in communication with each bordering 
continent. 

Improvement of Rivers. — To-day, the leading nations 
of the world are giving much attention to the improvement 
of rivers in order to increase their value to commerce. In 
places rivers are dredged to keep the channels clear, and 
stone embankments are built to keep the water in the deep 




Dredging a river. 

channels. Forests at the headwaters of rivers are being 
saved from destruction in order to regulate stream flow. 
In forest lands a large part of the rain is held in the spongy 



32 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

soil and does not flow off rapidly. Thus, much of it soaks 
into the ground, and appears again in streams, weeks and 
even months after the rain falls. In this way the water of 
rainy seasons keeps the streams full in the dry seasons of 
the year. When the forests are removed to make room 
for farms and cities, the rain flows rapidly down the cleared 
slopes into the streams ;. in rainy months the streams are 
flooded, and they have little water in the dry months. 
Thus navigable streams have become useless rivulets during 
much of the year. Germany has long given much atten- 
tion to the improvement of rivers. As a result the Rhine 
River is to-day worth millions for commerce where for- 
merly it was noted principally for its scenery. Our own 
Congress is just waking up to the importance of this subject. 
Water Power. — In manufacturing, one of the necessary 
things is power to run the machinery of the factories. When 
the United States was a young country, swift streams were 
much used for this purpose. By and by steam power was 
made available, and the rivers were neglected ; for generally 
a factory with steam power could be built in a more con- 
venient location than that of a water power mill. Years 
later, when men learned how to distribute power by means 
of electric wires, they began again to use water power. 
Dynamos turned by water wheels generate an electric cur- 
rent which is distributed by wires to factories in the vicinity 
and even to those hundreds of miles away. Many large 
falls, like Niagara, are harnessed and their strength is 
turned into electrical power which is used to light cities, 
propel electric cars, and run machinery. But while many 
planing mills, cloth factories, flour mills, and aluminum 
works use the energy of waterfalls, there are still millions 
of capital lying dormant in our streams. 



DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES OF LAND AND WATER 33 

New Industrial Problems Ahead. — Man has made 
marvelous advancement, but still there remain many indus- 
trial problems for the future to solve. The land was the 
first element with which man grappled. In comparatively 
recent times he attacked the ocean with undaunted courage 
and some degree of understanding. Even yet these two 
mighty forces — land and water — have not been fully 
exploited. Undoubtedly there are unused treasures in 
both that we know nothing about. 

The third great element — the air — has received little at- 
tention as a factor in industrial development. The inven- 
tion of airships is the dawn of a new industrial age. The 
flying machine will enlarge our knowledge of the uses of 
the air, and present new tasks for solution. When we 
solve them, the earth will, no doubt, be a better home for 
man. 

Questions 

1. What are some of the leading problems of conservation 
in the United States ? 

2. What has been done in your town or county to make it 
better adapted for the home of man than it was when the 
white race first settled it? Examples of such improvements 
are good roads, bridges, electric railroads, levees, drainage 
canals, filling in of swamps, planting forest trees, and harnessing 
streams for water power. 



How does England maintain 
her high rank in industry and 
her supremacy in commerce? 



34 



CHAPTER V 

ENGLAND, THE FOREMOST COMMERCIAL POWER 
ON EARTH 

England's Supremacy of the Sea. — In more than one 
respect the British Empire, of which England is the mother 
country, has for three centuries been the foremost power 
on earth. It has taken the lead in industry, commerce, 
and colonial possessions. 

The Empire embraces about one fifth of the land of the 
earth and claims more than one fourth of the world's 
inhabitants. But the most astonishing fact about Eng- 
land, a condition which the other nations admire and 
envy most in her, is her marvelous supremacy of the sea. 
To attain this superiority has required a long struggle. 
To-day she owns the largest merchant marine ever con- 
trolled by any nation. How did this come about? 

Brief Account of English Commercial Supremacy. — 
The early English population was composed largely of 
immigrants from European countries — Denmark, Ger- 
many, and France. The North Sea and the English 

35 



ENGLAND, THE FOREMOST COMMERCIAL POWER 37 

Channel were the highroads of intercourse between the 
island of Great Britain and the mainland of Europe. So, 
from the very beginning there were active trade relations, 
which developed into a great commercial spirit that grad- 
ually led to a desire for supremacy on the sea. The mer- 
chants pushed out farther and farther into the remote 
seas, until by and by England turned her face not only 
toward Europe but toward the whole world. In the course 
of time, England, in common with other European countries, 




An English ship of the fifteenth or sixteenth century. 

looked with longing eyes eastward to Asia and the East 
Indies, and westward to the Americas; but she was by no 
means the leader. In those far-off days of the fifteenth 
and sixteenth centuries there was glorious rivalry for the 
dominion of the sea, the conquest of new lands, and new 
trade. The Portuguese and the Dutch preceded England 
in the East, and Spain gained the first foothold in the New 
World. France played a leading role in North America, 
while Spain controlled South America and Mexico. Eng- 
land seemed to hold the fifth place in the commercial race. 



3» 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 






■ 







ENGLAND, THE FOREMOST COMMERCIAL POWER 39 

But in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries 
she steadily came to the front. Portugal was the first to 
lose her place; later Spain declined. 

England Defeats Spain. — Up to the middle of the six- 
teenth century, England's rank as a sea power was not high. 
Spain was the mistress of the ocean. Because of religious 
and commercial disputes, the two countries were not at all 
friendly with each other. 

Before long England's power burst into bloom. Her 
daring sea captains were determined to secure some control 
of the seas. Sir Francis Drake, the leading spirit among 
them, sailed round the world, and raided Spanish ships and 
colonies, bringing home an amazing amount of Spanish 
booty. 

In 1585 the Spanish king built a large fleet, known as the 
Spanish Armada, and declared war upon his enemy. Sud- 
denly Drake appeared in the harbor of Cadiz, Spain, and 
burned many of the Spanish vessels. On his way home he 
captured a Portuguese ship laden with valuable merchan- 
dise from eastern Asia; it was important as revealing to 
Englishmen the great wealth that was coming from the 
trade with the East. 

In 1588, the great Spanish Armada, which had been 
rebuilt and enlarged to 132 vessels, set out to attack Eng- 
land. The latter gave her enemy a disastrous defeat. 
This was the beginning of the commercial decline of 
Spain. 

Other English Conquests. — Exultant at their victory 
over the Spaniards, the English laid new and greater plans 
for an ocean future than had ever been dreamed of by 
any other nation. From that time on they faced not only 
Europe but the whole world. Holland was still in the lead. 



40 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Her ships carried most of the world's commerce, including 
that of England. In order to check Holland and increase 
their own trade, the English passed laws requiring that all 
imports into Great Britain or any of her colonies be carried 
in English ships manned by English sailors. This took 
from the Dutch much of their foreign trade and left France 
as the chief commercial rival of England. 

The English opened up a vigorous trade with Asia by 
way of the Cape of Good Hope. They also established the 
thirteen colonies along the eastern coast of North America, 
which they finally lost. But just previous to that loss 
they had gained Canada from France, and wrested India 
from French control. This left England undoubtedly 
the foremost among the nations. She opened trade with 
Africa, took possession of some of the largest and best 
territory in that continent, and gained control in Egypt. 
In the course of time the whole continent of Australia fell 
to her lot. , Thus England in commerce and colonies has 
become greater than any other nation. 

Growth of England's Merchant Fleet. — The invention 
of the steamboat about ioo years ago caused great 
changes in the British fleets. The Cornet, the first Eng- 
lish steamer, was built four years 'after Fulton had given 
the world his invention. She carried twenty-five tons 
at a speed of three miles an hour. For some time 
steamers kept close to land. Even as late as 1835 an 
English scientist declared that a trip to the moon was quite 
as possible as a steamer voyage across the Atlantic, al- 
though the American ship Savannah, equipped as both 
steamer and sailing vessel, had made one fourth of her trip 
across by steam in 18 19. Nevertheless, on April 4, 1838, 
the Sirius (tonnage 703 ; length 178 feet) with ninety-four 



ENGLAND, THE FOREMOST COMMERCIAL POWER 41 

passengers left London for New York, which she reached 
in eighteen days. The tonnage of steamers has been 
increased to 55,000; the length to nearly 1,000 feet; and 
the passenger capacity to 5,000. To enable the steamers 
to go faster and carry heavier loads wooden ships gave way 
to iron and steel. In 1839 the United Kingdom owned over 
28,000 sailing vessels and only 824 steamers, carrying three 
and one third million tons in all. By 19 10 the sailing ves- 
sels were reduced to 9,090 ; the steamers were increased 
to 12,000; and the total cargoes to eleven and one half 
million tons. This does not include the 597 warships 
which to-day are entirely distinct from merchant vessels. 
British ships, besides transporting their own products, 
do a large part of the carrying trade of other European 
countries and of the United States; in fact most of the 




) Underwood & Underwood, 



A British battleship. 



42 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

world's oceanic merchandise is carried under the British 
flag. Now let us inquire into the natural causes that 
have made possible England's leadership in commerce. 

Great Britain, an Island. — In the first place, Great 
Britain is an island. It is composed of England, Scotland, 
and Wales, but the greatest of these is England, which is 
known as the mother country of the British Empire. 
Originally the three countries in Great Britain were inde- 
pendent of one another. England was then also known as 
Britannia. Wales was conquered and when Scotland was 
united with England, the name of the kingdom became 
Great Britain. Great Britain and Ireland together are 
spoken of as the United Kingdom, or the British Isles. 
All these names are used to include many small surround- 
ing islands as well as the two large ones. 

Influence of the Sea. — It is perfectly natural for 
islanders to be allured to the ocean. The English cannot 
resist the call of the sea. For centuries they have been 
good sailors. Thousands of them learn the ways of the 
sea as fishermen; for the shallow waters of the North Sea 
abound in fish. There is no place in England more than 
seventy miles from the sea. 

Near Europe. — The ocean environment, valuable as 
it is for England, is no mo r e important than the nearness 
of the mainland. A steamer trip of an hour and three 
quarters carries one across the English Channel from Dover, 
England, to Calais, France. Several of the most important 
nations are only a short distance away. Many steamship 
lines connect Great Britain with Holland, France, Bel- 
gium, and Germany. The plains of Europe, with their busy 
rivers, the Seine, the Rhine, the Weser, and the Elbe, face 
the island. 



ENGLAND, THE FOREMOST COMMERCIAL POWER 43 

In the Center of the World. — Before 1492, Great Brit- 
ain was on the edge of the known world. Since the six- 
teenth century it has been in the center. The New World, 
with its marvelous natural wealth, helped to make Eng- 
land commercially important. 

Good Natural Harbors. — Great Britain is unusually 
fortunate in the irregularity of its coast. The mouths of 
many of the rivers are deep estuaries which form good 




Docks at Liverpool. 



harbors. Englishmen have made use of nature's gifts 
by building large cities there, including London, Ports- 
mouth, Hull, Bristol, Glasgow, and Liverpool. Due to 
the warm westerly winds and the northeast flow of the 
warm surface water of the Atlantic in the same latitude, 
English harbors are ice free the year round. Small wonder 
that, with such natural advantages, English ports rank 
among the largest commercial centers in the world. 



44 * THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

High Tides. — At high tide the estuaries of the rivers 
become arms of the sea on which the largest ships may sail ; 
but while the tides help to make excellent harbors, they are 
not an unmixed blessing. In London there is a difference 
of eighteen feet between high tide and low tide. At Liver- 
pool the flood tide rises twenty-four feet above the ebb ; 
in the Severn River, forty feet. Thus a serious problem is 
presented to the builders of the piers and wharves. A 
landing place suitable when the tide is low would be entirely 
submerged when the water reached its high mark. To 
overcome this difficulty floating landing stages are built, 
the piers rising or falling with the water. At Liverpool 
and other points magnificent stone piers surrounding 
great pools wall the banks of the river. Ships enter these 
pools of water through water gates. The docks cost large 
sums of money; but England has spared neither money 
nor labor in improving her harbors. 

Storms and Fogs. — There are many sea storms, espe- 
cially in the English Channel. Storms have damaged thou- 
sands of ships off the English coast. Even more danger- 
ous than the storms are the fogs which hang so heavily 
over and around England. Along the coasts are many 
cliffs and sand banks against which ships can easily be 
dashed to pieces when they are enveloped in fogs, for the 
lighthouses, of which England has over three hundred, are 
invisible in the dense fogs. 

It is well known that London sometimes has such heavy 
fogs that the streets have to be lighted in daytime, and even 
then persons become lost near their own homes. Imagine 
the fear of the people on the many ships that crowd the 
harbor. It requires great care to keep the vessels from 
crashing into one another. 



ENGLAND, THE FOREMOST COMMERCIAL POWER 45 



Shiploading Conveniences in English Harbors. — At 

the great seaports are large piers of stone inclosing 

half a hundred acres of water each, and docks where the 

largest ocean greyhounds with a tonnage of fifty and sixty 

thousand tons may 

load and unload their 

enormous cargoes. 

Mighty cranes with 

their revolving arms 

and pulleys, lifting 

fifty tons at a time, 

swing back and forth 

between the ship and 

the piers, carrying 

sacks, bales, boxes, 

kegs, barrels, and hogs- 

heads. Oils are 

pumped from oil tank 

steamers to harbor 

tanks or vice versa. 

Grain is transferred 

not in sacks but in 

bulk, by machinery 

with an endless bucket 

chain such as is used 

in transferring wheat 

from a car to elevator bins. Powerful hoists load a ship 

with coal at the rate of seven hundred tons an hour. At 

the Immingham Dock near Grimsby 5,000,000 tons of coal 

can be handled per day. The rapidity with which the work 

is done is amazing. Gigantic granaries and warehouses, 

crowded around the wharves, hold the cargoes until they 




Eddystone lighthouse. 



46 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



can be sent out to their destinations. No sooner is a ship 
emptied than the reloading begins, for shipowners do not 
like to have a ship waste time in the harbor. The more 
trips it makes the greater will be the financial returns. 

Shipbuilding Materials. — To construct and maintain 
such a large merchant fleet requires an enormous amount 
of coal and iron. Fortunately England is bountifully 
supplied with both. For more than a hundred years Great 




A British shipyard. 

Britain stood at the head of all nations in their produc- 
tion. But recently Germany and the United States have 
been outstripping her. In 1910 she ranked next to the 
United States in coal production ; and third in iron, being 
excelled only by our country and Germany. It is fortu- 
nate for Great Britain that wooden ships are disappearing, 
for her forests are not large, covering less than 5 per cent 
of the total area. In this respect she is far behind Ger- 
many and the United States. The factories, the ships, 
and the export trade have consumed so much coal in the 
last three centuries that the English fear the exhaustion of 



ENGLAND, THE FOREMOST COMMERCIAL POWER 47 

their mines within the next one or two centuries. But for 
the present they have quite enough iron to maintain the 
largest commercial fleet on earth, and sufficient coal to steam 
their ships over the boundless seas. Her three greatest 
shipbuilding centers are well scattered over the United 
Kingdom. They are Glasgow on the Clyde River in Scot- 
land, Newcastle on the Tyne in England, and Belfast in 
Ireland. By nature Great Britain is well equipped to lead 
in commerce. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Find out all you can about Sir Francis Drake and other 
English explorers. 

2. Locate on the map the two islands of the United Kingdom, 
North Sea, English Channel, France, Belgium, Netherlands, 
Denmark, Germany, the Rhine, Seine, Elbe, Spain, and Cadiz. 

3. Make a collection of pictures of ships. 

4. What are some of the difficulties that must be solved by 
engineers in building a tunnel under the English Channel ? 

5. Describe some of the work required in improving a harbor. 

6. Why do British vessels carry so much of the merchandise 
of the United States? 



CHAPTER VI 
ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 

Need of a Large Merchant Marine. — The United King- 
dom is very small, compared with many other countries, and 
the population is very dense. In England, the most impor- 
tant country of the Kingdom, there are more than 500 people 
to the square mile, while the United States averages but 
about 31 to the square mile. Great Britain may be re- 
garded as a gigantic workshop with millions of workers. 
Raw materials for the factories are brought on ships from 
all parts of the world, and the manufactured products are 
shipped from England to all other countries. This trans- 
portation of raw materials and finished articles requires a 
very large number of merchant ships. About three fourths 
of the people are engaged in manufacturing and commerce, 
while only a little more than one tenth are engaged in 
farming. Therefore the farms can supply only a small part 
of the food required by the total population ; and so enor- 
mous quantities of food products must be carried in ships 
to this country. Merely to serve her domestic needs, Eng- 
land needs more ships than any other country. In addi- 
tion most of the commerce between the several colonies of 
the British Empire, as well as much of the trade between 
foreign nations, is carried in British ships. 

Agriculture. — In the British Isles farming is carried 
on with great care and skill. Every acre of farm land is 
cultivated in such a way as to produce the highest possible 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 49 

yield of grain, root crops, or grass and hay. Only 17 per 
cent of the total surface is non-agricultural land. In the 

















S? y ~ 




l^i^iliK 












• ' 


IP 


' ifl. ' '%: '■:'- ^ 'f fevx'Y^., %■. "-£ 










. ' ■ • ' " 


* 






IIEl/ 


. ■ ■■ :"'" : ' .:'■■■■■ ' •'. ' '' ,■: , 










;,:.-,,V,; ; :-;,. r .:';: ... -#-^ ' ■ ' ; ,: .-. -;fc 







An English farm scene. 

mountainous sections of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, there 
are extensive areas of grazing lands on which large numbers 
of cattle and sheep are raised. The leading crops are wheat, 
oats, barley, hay, potatoes, and turnips. Nearly all the 
wheat of the United Kingdom is raised in England. The 
English farmer has an enviable record as a producer of this 
grain. England yields 32.4 bushels per acre; Germany, 
30.8; France, 19.0; Austria-Hungary, 18.4; United States, 
14.3 ; Russia, 9.2. Oats, hay, and potatoes are the chief 
crops of Ireland and Scotland. Ireland also produces great 
quantities of flax. Truck gardening is carried on exten- 
sively in the densely settled sections. 

Although the British Isles are in latitudes that are quite 
cold in most parts of the world, yet the warm westerly 
winds from the Atlantic give these islands a mild climate. 



So 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




The frequent rains brought by these winds cause an abun- 
dant growth of grass and hay. The summers are too 
short and too cool and cloudy for corn and cotton to grow ; 
in the northern portions, only hardy crops, like oats and 
potatoes, can be successfully grown. Although the summers 
are short, yet the long days partly compensate for the short 
growing season. 

Because of the extensive grazing lands, large numbers of 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 5 1 

live stock are raised. The British Isles are noted for the 
fine breeds of horses, cattle, and sheep that have been devel- 
oped there. In the number of cattle per square mile, Ire- 
land surpasses the other countries of the United King- 
dom ; while in the number of sheep per square mile, Wales 
is far ahead. Although many cattle, sheep, and hogs are 
raised, the supply of meat is not equal to the demand ; 
therefore, heavy imports of this product are necessary. 

History of English Agriculture. — In the early days of 
England agriculture was the chief occupation ; but it was 
carried on in a way quite different from present methods. 
The farmers lived in villages surrounded by three kinds of 
lane, (1) woodland, the common source of fuel for all the 
villagers, (2) meadows for pastures, and (3) arable land for 
farming. The tillable land was divided into small strips 
separated by narrow ribbons of unplowed land. Each 
farmer was assigned several strips lying in different sections 
so that all might receive equal shares of rich and poor soil. 
At first the same crops were raised year after year in the 
same fields. After a time the people learned that this 
wore out the soil very fast. Then the three field system 
was adopted. One year wheat or rye was raised on a given 
strip, the second year barley, oats, or peas were produced, 
and ihe third year the land lay fallow. This was the 
beginrfng of the farm practice known as rotation of crops. 

Duriig the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the English 
farmers jave most of their attention to sheep raising in- 
stead of raising crops. At this time European countries 
across tie Channel were rapidly developing the manufac- 
turing cf woolen goods, and there was a great demand for 
wool. The raising of sheep led to the inclosing of the fields 
and caased a great reduction in the number of farmers, for 



52 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

this industry does not require nearly so many laborers as 
the growing of crops. So many farms were converted into 
sheep pastures that thousands of people were thrown out 
of employment. Many of them turned to the making of 
woolen cloth in their homes as a' means of earning a 
living. During this time England produced so little grain 
that she had to import foodstuffs from other countries. 

About the first of the seventeenth century England be- 
gan to give less attention to sheep raising and more to the 
production of crops. In the middle of that century great 
improvements in agricultural methods became general. 
Marshes were drained and forests cleared in order to make 
more farming land, better methods of cultivation came into 
use, and new crops, such as turnips and clover, were in- 
troduced. Clover which enriches the soil for succeed- 
ing crops was used as a rotation crop. Instead of letting 
the land lie fallow for one year, clover was raised to in- 
crease fertility, and to supply feed for the farm animals. 
Through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries methods 
of farming gradually improved until the scientific agri- 
culture of the present day was reached. 

Fisheries. — The shallow waters around the British Isles 
are among the best fishing grounds in the world . Here 
billions of cod, mackerel, haddock, and herring feed and 
spawn. Over 100,000 men secure annually from the sea 
more than 1,000,000 tons of fish valued at more than 
$54,000,000, a daily average of $150,000. The United 
Kingdom is the second greatest fishing country, being sur- 
passed only by the United States. Fish is cheaper than 
meat because fishing grounds do not have to be; bought, 
cannot be taxed, and require no cultivation . Every 
British coast town carries on fishing ; but the mo st impor- 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 53 

tant ports are Plymouth on the south ; Yarmouth, Grimsby, 
Harwich, and Hull on the east ; and Aberdeen in Scot- 
land. Grimsby is said to be the greatest fishing port in 
the world. The fisheries contribute to England's ocean 
supremacy in two ways. The surplus product forms an 
important export, and fishing vessels are training schools 
for sailors who may later enter the merchant service. 

Mineral Wealth. — Great Britain is one of the three 
most important coal and iron countries in the world. These 
minerals above all other resources have given her the posi- 
tion of leader among nations. Fortunately the coal and 
iron which are so necessary to each other, are found near to- 
gether and not far from the sea, mostly in southern Scot- 
land, northern England, and Wales. Ireland is not rich 
in these products. 

Iron. — While iron is abundant, so much has been used in 
the past, and the steel age is making such constantly increas- 
ing demands upon this metal, that the output is not suf- 
ficient to meet the demands of the factories. The country 
is compelled to import iron from Italy, Spain, and Sweden. 

Coal. — Great Britain's chief coal deposits greatly exceed 
in value those of any other country in Europe. 

Some of the coal is used for fuel ; about a third of it is 
exported ; but most of it is used in the manufacture of cloth, 
the smelting of iron, and the manufacture of iron and steel 
products. For several reasons the British do not use nearly 
so much coal for fuel per capita as we do in our country. 
One reason is the mildness of winter. Another is that the 
English have trained themselves to feel comfortable at 
6o° or 65 Fahrenheit while we require 68° or 70 . 

Coal and iron have had a great influence on the distri- 
bution of population in England. Long ago when agri- 



54 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



culture was the chief occupation of the country, most of 
the population lived in the southern part. Few people 
lived on the moors and among the hills of the north, until 




Blast furnaces. 



Pouring molten steel into a ladle. 



the beginning of the nineteenth century. After coal came 
into general use, manufacturing cities suddenly sprang 
up and the smokestacks of factories poured forth great 
black clouds over the once peaceful moorlands. 

Manufacturing in Great Britain. — The extensive man- 
ufacturing of this country is due largely to the abundance 
of coal and iron, which are the two great natural resources 
upon which modern factories largely depend. However, 
the marvelous industrial prosperity of Great Britain is 
due not merely to nature's gift, but also in a large measure 
to the energy and intelligence of its people. The stamp of 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 55 



the British craftsman is a guarantee of excellence and 
honesty. In skilled labor Great Britain and the United 
States take first honors. British manufactures cover a 
wide range of products, but the two most important are 
cloth, and iron and steel goods. 

Textile Manufactures. — The making of cloth — cotton, 
woolens, and linens — is the most important branch of 
manufacturing. No other country surpasses England in 
the textile industry. English woolen cloth, especially used 
in men's and women's tailor-made suits, is renowned for 
its quality the world over. You have heard of tweeds, 
cheviots, and Scotch plaids? Most of the cloth centers 
are in the coal sections, between Liverpool and Glasgow. 
Leeds is noted for its woolen cloth, Leicester for its woolen 
hosiery, and Manchester is the greatest cotton-manufactur- 
ing center in the world. Belfast, Ireland, is an important 
center of linen manufacture. 

Notable Inventions in England. — In the second half 
of the eighteenth cen- 
tury a number of in- 
ventions were made 
that caused marvel- 
ous changes in the 
textile industries. 
The invention of the 
flying shuttle in 1753 
made the hand looms 
work so fast that the 
spinners could not 
meet the demands 
for thread. This was 
soon followed by 




An early loom. 



56 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

three improvements on the spinning machine. Arkwright 
invented the water frame in 1769 which enabled men to spin 
a stronger cotton thread. In 1770 Hargreaves brought 
out the spinning jenny which added to the rapidity of the 
work. In 1779 Crompton invented the " mule " which 
enabled men to manufacture fine muslin threads faster 
than ever. Then the spinners more than kept the weavers 
busy. In 1769 Watt invented the steam engine and in 
1785 the power loom was substituted for the hand loom. 
These inventions were soon applied to the woolen and 
linen industries. Improvements were made also in spin- 
ning flax and combing wool, in dyeing and bleaching cloths, 
and in lace making and calico printing. 

A Typical Manchester Factory Scene. — Manchester 
is world renowned for its many cotton mills, where spin- 
ning and weaving are carried on in huge factories many 
stories high. As the morning bell announces the opening 
hour of the day's work, throngs of men, women, boys, and 
girls move along the streets toward the mills. Some turn 
in at the warehouses ; most of the men enter the tall spin- 
ning factories, while the women find their work in the 
low weaving sheds. In a few moments the operatives have 
removed their wraps and taken their stations at their 
various posts. The spinners watch their " mules " and 
frames; the weavers busy themselves with their looms. 
The rooms are filled with many driving wheels. On the 
stroke of the hour the machinery is set in motion. The 
leather bands fly on their endless journeys ; frames move 
back and forth; cylinders revolve; spindles turn round 
and round ; shuttles fly from side to side ; looms work up 
and down. All this motion keeps spinners and weavers 
alert until the dinner time. Then the mill is deserted, and 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 57 

the street is again thronged with a lively, chattering crowd. 
After dinner the wbrk is resumed until six o'clock, when the 
weary laborers leave the day's toil for the welcome, cheer, 
and rest of home. 

Source of Raw Products. — Raw cotton is imported 
from India, Egypt, and the United States. Much of the 
flax for linen goods is grown in Ireland. The sheep pas- 
tures in far-away Australia and New Zealand furnish most 
of the raw wool ; Great Britain furnishes the coal for power 
and most of the iron for the machinery of the textile 
mills. 

Iron and Steel. — The making of iron and steel goods 
is the second greatest manufacturing industry in Great 
Britain. Only the United States excels England in this 
line of goods. The small island has at least thirty large 
manufacturing centers ; among them London, the largest 
city in the world. As far back as the sixteenth century 
Birmingham has been making iron goods and metal wares, 
— knives, scissors, screws, skates ; locks and steel springs ; 
pins and pens ; needles and nails ; thimbles, buttons, and 
watch chains ; cannon, steam engines, and machinery of 
all kinds. The world's best cutlery is made in Sheffield. 

England's Leading Customers. — Textiles (cotton, linen, 
woolen, and other cloths) make up two fifths of the exports 
from Great Britain and Ireland; iron and steel manufac- 
tures make one fifth. The total export trade in 191 2, a 
typical year, was about $2,450,000,000. A large part of 
England's trade is carried on with her colonies, with whom 
she keeps in close touch. Her principal foreign buyers in 
191 2 were Germany, United States, France, Russia, Ar- 
gentina, Belgium, and Netherlands. The annual per 
capita exports amounted to $50, the imports to $60. 



58 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




An early English locomotive. 



British Railways. — In 1825 George Stephenson in- 
vented the locomotive engine, to which he gave the signifi- 
cant name •" The Rocket." His invention led to the 
building of the first railroad in 1830. This was the begin- 
ning of railroads in the 
world ; and through 
them England not only 
increased her wealth 
immensely in the nine- 
teenth century, but 
she gained a long start 
in advance of European 
nations in manufactur- 
ing and trade. Only 
recently have Ger- 
many and the United 
States caught up with her along these lines. Mr. Stephen- 
son once said : " England made the railways, and in return 
the railways made England." He was right, for the com- 
merce of the United Kingdom has been greatly promoted 
by the admirable system of more than 23,000 miles of 
railways reaching from every part of the interior to the 
seaports. England and Wales have the densest network 
of railways in the world. Every part of the island is within 
twelve hours of London by rail. Freight rates are higher 
than in the United States, but the railway beds and tracks 
are said to be the best in the world. 

Rivers and Canals. — The many navigable rivers, with 
long, deep estuaries, reaching from the coast well into the 
heart of England, have greatly fostered commerce. "Ninety- 
five per cent of the Thames, for example, is navigable. 
The usual British ingenuity has connected the streams by 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 59 

means of canals, so that there is almost a perfect network 
of waterways as well as of railways. The first canal was 
built in 1 761 by the private funds of the Duke of Bridge- 
water. Since then about 2,000 miles of public canals have 
aided commerce by affording complete internal water 
communications from coast to coast. The English have 
also made the rivers over again. Take the Tyne for ex- 
ample. Its bed has been deepened ; its channel altered. 
Thousands of tons of earth have been removed from its 
bed so that large ships may float their heavy cargoes to 
Newcastle. The mightiest machinery in the world hoisted 
51 million tons of dirt from the river, which was carried 




An English railway train. 



out three miles to sea. A dangerous promontory seventy- 
five feet high, obstructing navigation, was cut away. 
Docks were enlarged and thousands of feet of dry quays 
were built. 



6o 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



The Manchester Ship Canal. — For a long time, great 
unnecessary expense was added to the cotton manufacture 
of Manchester because the raw product which landed at 
Liverpool had to be reloaded there on trains for Man- 
chester. Recently a ship canal thirty-five miles long and 
twenty-eight feet deep has been built between Manchester 
and the sea. This enables ocean ships to steam up to their 
docks, load and unload there, thus making Manchester a 
seaport, independent of Liverpool. This canal is one of 
the most wonderful conquests of man over nature. 




Locks on the Manchester Ship Canal. 



Country Roads. — Until the beginning of the nineteenth 
century very little attention was given to road-making in 
England, and the roads were poor. About that time 
Macadam and other engineers worked out many problems 
of road construction. Private companies and public author- 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 6 1 

ities used the ideas of these men, and before the close of 
the century macadam roads extended over all parts of Great 
Britain. These highways of stone form the trade arteries be- 
tween railroad centers and rural districts. The excellent 
roads bordered by beautiful hedges furnish one of the chief 
delights of travel in the rural sections of England. 

The Ocean, the Only Means of International Trade. — 
In spite of her close network of railways and canals, Eng- 
land's only means of trading with other nations is by way 
of the oceans. The United States can send things by rail 
to Canada or Mexico. But not one country touches Eng- 
land. She stands alone in the midst of the waters. Every 
egg, every ounce of meat, every pound of sugar, every sack 
of flour, every apple that enters England from foreign 
lands has had a sea journey. Every yard of cloth, every 
garment, every pen, every pin that is sold to foreigners 
must be shipped across salt waters. No wonder, then, 
that Great Britain requires a large merchant marine. 

Industrial Centers. — The manufacturing and commer- 
cial activities of Great Britain have caused the growth of 
many large cities within a small territory. It would require 
a large book to tell about all of them. We shall study only 
four. 

London. — The capital, London, is the largest city in 
the world. It is the foremost banking center of the world, 
and one of its chief commercial ports. Including all its 
suburbs, it contains one fourth of the population of Eng- 
land. All roads in the entire Empire seem to lead to 
London. In spite of the fact that the Thames is not deep 
enough for the largest steamers, which dock twenty miles 
below the city, London was for a long time the world's 
greatest seaport. The early growth was due to the fact 



62 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




A view of the wharves at London. 

that the Thames River lies opposite some of the busiest 
rivers of Europe and the most highly developed countries. 
This made the city the collecting center of English exports 
and the distributing center of European and Asiatic imports. 
It handles more wool, tea, and wine, than any other city 
and is one of the leading fur centers. Its colonial commerce 
is very heavy, especially with India. It was to further 
trade with that country that the Suez Canal was built. 
London's relative commercial rank is not so high as it once 
was. Large continental ports, like New York and Ham- 
burg, excel it in the quantity of goods handled ; but no other 
city requires for its personal use such large imports as 
London. 

London has a population of over 7,000,000. It has in- 
habitants from all parts of the globe, — Frenchmen, Russians, 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 63 

Germans, Italians, Americans, and many others, — enough 
of each to make a city. It is the busiest of busy cities. 
At all times great throngs of people crowd its chief busi- 
ness streets. Hundreds of thousands of persons from 
the suburbs enter the heart of the city each morning to earn 
a living in thousands of stores, factories, mills, and ware- 
houses. The chief London streets and bridges are always 
crowded, as if a fair, or a parade, were going on. The 
people come on foot, and in omnibuses, electric cars, and 
underground railroads. 

If you could look down from an airship upon London, 
you would be bewildered by the innumerable dwellings, 
the thousands of factories and warehouses, and the hun- 
dreds of ships in its harbors. At the London wharves, 
where there are miles and miles of landing places, many 
men are busy every day unloading cattle and sheep by the 




Hyde Park, London. 



64 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

thousands. The former come from Holland; the latter, 
from Australia. Shiploads of frozen beef are received 
from Argentina and Australia; many hundredweight of 
butter from Denmark ; millions of poultry and eggs from 
France. Hundreds of barrels of apples arrive from Canada, 
and thousands of bales of cotton are received from the United 
States, India, and Egypt. Many fishing vessels bring in 
more than a million pounds of fish daily. Hundreds of 
casks of French and Italian wine are brought into London. 
Germany, France, Switzerland, and the United States ship 
to it great quantities of manufactured articles. Swedish 
timber and iron, Brazilian coffee and rubber are landed 
on London wharves. Arctic furs ; tropical spices and fruits ; 
grains, meat, and fruits of the temperate zone are un- 
loaded in rapid succession. In short it takes all the world 
to feed, clothe, and shelter its largest city. 

As soon as the ships are cleared of their cargoes, they 
are loaded with cloth, coal, machinery, cutlery, and imple- 
ments, which go to all parts of the globe. 

Liverpool. — Liverpool, on the Irish Sea, receives most 
of the American trade. It is the headquarters of the White 
Star and Cunard steamship lines. Liverpool is unrivaled 
as a distributing center. Near by, the large manufactur- 
ing centers of northern and middle England, the mining 
districts of Wales, and the Irish lowlands across the 
Irish Sea, look to Liverpool for food, clothing, and raw 
products. 

Almost a third of the total trade of the country enters 
and leaves this port — exceeding 4,000,000 tons a year. 
New steamships are constantly being built for service 
between Liverpool and the other leading ports of the 
world. In 19 14 the Cunard line added the Aquitania to 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 65 

its number of magnificent ships sailing between New York 
and Liverpool. The tides that enter the Mersey River fill 
the harbor of Liverpool with sand and debris. To prevent 
this a wall 1300 feet long in the sea channel was finished 
November, 1910. It is hoped that this 237,000 tons of stone 
wall will secure for the harbor a deep-water entrance with 
no danger of future obstruction. This entrance is large 
enough for the largest ships now existing, or contemplated. 

The Gladstone dock, 1020 feet long, accommodates the 
giant ships now in existence and will also admit the 1000- 
foot vessels of 60,000 tons of the future. 

Liverpool Imports. — From 4,000,000 to 9,000,000 sacks 
of wheat annually have been imported of late into Liverpool 
from the United States, Russia, India, Australia, and 
Argentina. Ham and bacon are received in large quanti- 
ties, principally from the United States, Ireland, and 
Denmark. Early in the twentieth century the prices of 
American meat rose so high that England reduced her pur- 
chases from us. Russia, Serbia, and China received the 
English pork trade which our country lost. Liverpool is 
the chief port for receiving American and Canadian apples. 
Sometimes a single shipment contains from 25,000 to 30,000 
barrels of the fruit. More than a million cases of canned 
salmon found their way from our Pacific coast into Liver- 
pool during 1910; but American butter and cheese are 
usually not wanted on account of the high prices. As a 
result Denmark, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, and 
Canada have gained the lion's share of this trade. 

Liverpool Exports. — A large part of the exports of Liver- 
pool consist of woolen goods, made largely from raw 
material sent by Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina. 
The export and import trade of Liverpool, enormous as it 



66 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

is, would be still greater if the Ship Canal connecting the 
Irish Sea with Manchester had not been built. 

Manchester. — The trade relations of the United States 
with Manchester are as good as with Liverpool. The word 
" Manchester " has become almost a synonym for cotton 
manufacturing, and our country produces most of her nec- 
essary raw material. But while this is her leading business, 
cotton by no means exhausts her industries. Besides 
cotton goods, Manchester exports chemicals, dyestuffs, 
hats, handkerchiefs, thread, linens, velvets, steel wire, 
glass, china, and earthenware. 

Fruit Sales. — Manchester ranks high in the importa- 
tion of fruits. In 1910, 2,262,077 bunches of bananas were 
imported from the West Indies. Buyers from all parts of 
northern and middle England attend the public auction 
held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the fruit salesrooms 
of Manchester. Here in normal times two and a half 
million dollars' worth of fruit changes owners annually. 
During three market days at Christmas time, 19 10, there 
were sold 17,000 barrels and boxes of apples from the 
United States and Canada, 2150 boxes of Jaffa oranges, 
22,250 cases of Valencia oranges, 7030 packages of Sicily 
grapes, and 195 barrels of Almeria grapes. 

Display and Dispatching of Fruit. — The moment a ship 
is anchored at the docks, samples of its fruits are sent to 
the fruit salesroom. There they are displayed to prospec- 
tive buyers, on elevators rising from the cellars. If a boat 
happens to land on a sale day the whole cargo may be 
sold in one or two hours. No sooner are sales made than 
forwarding orders are put into the hands of the represent- 
atives of the canals and railroads. Immediately these 
orders are sent to the docks. Not a moment is lost. Often 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 67 

by the time the buyer leaves the salesrooms, his purchases 
have been loaded into freight cars and started toward their 
destination. Time is the great factor of a contract in the 
fruit market. The Manchester brokers, with the coopera- 
tion of the ship canal and railroad companies, manage their 
transactions with the greatest possible speed. 




Unloading cattle, Manchester Ship Canal. 



Port Facilities. — The long Manchester Ship Canal 
offers ample space to manufacturers for the erection of 
works along a waterway. In one large park estate of 
over a thousand acres, with a frontage of three miles on 
the canal, seventy-three firms have already secured space 
for carrying on production and trade on a colossal scale. 
The attention that is given to the best means of shipping 
each particular kind of goods is wonderful. For instance, 
molasses is imported in bulk. When the cargo arrives 



68 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

from Cuba, it is pumped from the ship into large dock tanks 
and thence is distributed by motor tank wagons. Inflam- 
mable articles, like cotton, yarn, hemp, oil, are handled 
with the utmost care to reduce the fire risk. 

Glasgow. — The United Kingdom builds more ships 
than any other country on earth. Every year large 
steamers are launched in the great shipyards of Belfast, 
Newcastle, and Glasgow. The last-named city is the lead- 
ing shipbuilding center of the world. It is in the south- 
western part of Scotland on the Clyde River, whose banks 
are lined with mighty ocean steamers in all stages of con- 
struction. The noise made by the thousands of hammers 
striking the steel almost deafens one. Both merchant 
vessels and powerful warships are made for England, and 
also for other countries. 

Owing to an abundant supply of coal near by, Glasgow 
is a leading manufacturing center. The finest kinds of 
cotton goods and a great variety of heavy machinery are 
made. 

Conclusion. — England began her industrial career as an 
agricultural nation. By and by she realized that there 
was great profit in manufacturing. .The most important 
industries of England are the weaving of cotton and woolen 
goods and the making of iron and steel products. The 
importance of the textile industry is due largely to the 
early start given to it by the invention of improved looms 
and the machinery used in the manufacture of cloth. 
Rich mines of coal and iron near together have given 
England her high rank in the iron and steel industries. 
Most of the raw materials used in the English factories are 
brought from other countries and the many manufactured 
products are shipped to the four quarters of the globe. To 



ENGLAND, A LEADER IN THE WORLD'S INDUSTRY 69 

carry on this exchange of goods requires an enormous fleet 
of ships ; so England is the greatest commercial nation of 
the world. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Locate the chief manufacturing cities of Great Britain. 
Which are the leading centers of the textile industries ? Which 
are the leading centers of the iron and steel industries ? 

2. Compare English and American agricultural methods. 

3. Make as long a list of strictly English inventions as you 
can. 

4. Take a trip to a harbor or freight depot. Describe the 
sights. 

5. Collect pictures of docks, piers, and harbors. 

6. Suppose that there were no such things as ships. What 
would be the industrial situation in England ? 

7. Does your community send any products to England ? 

8. What do you think is the greatest cause of England's 
prosperity ? 



CHAPTER VII 

ENGLAND, THE FOUNDER OF THE WORLD'S 
GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 

Extent of England's Colonial Possessions. — No other 
country is as rich in colonial possessions as Great Britain. 
Her colonies include Canada in North America, British 
Guiana in South America, British India in Asia, British 
East Africa, Union of South Africa, the whole of Australia, 
besides many islands and coaling stations. In addition 
she has control in Egypt. 

Reasons for England's Colonial Ambition. — England's 
desire for colonial possessions is natural enough. Her 
population is constantly overflowing the limited area. 
Her ambitious young men seek careers which the home 
island cannot afford. The people are rich and demand 
larger opportunities for the investment of their money than 
can be found at home. Colonies afford the means for 
thousands of young people to develop into successful busi- 
ness men and leaders of state. England and her colonies, 
moreover, make an empire that is very largely self-sufficient 
and independent of other nations in products, industries, 
and commerce. She has sought the world over for re- 
sources and has found them. The British possessions 
are located in every zone, but most of them are in the 
Temperate belt. While Canada extends from the frozen 
Arctic in the north to the temperate parallel of 43 
north latitude, British India stretches *from 39 north 
latitude to within 8° of the equator. British East Africa 
is crossed by the equator. Australia and Tasmania lie 

70 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 7 1 

between io° and 42 ° south latitude. The remotest southern 
English islands fringe the edge of the Antarctic Ocean. 
Thus British possessions extend from the most northern 
point of land on the globe to the southernmost. 

British India. — The most precious jewel in Great Brit- 
ain's crown is India, the middle peninsula of southern 
Asia. This country has an area half as large as the United 
States, with a population three times as great. It covers 
the same latitudes as the stretch of country between the 
Ohio River and the northernmost point of South America. 
Commercially India is the chief country in Asia. 

Farm Products. — Most of the land consists of fertile 
plains, those in the north being watered by four large rivers 
— the Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Irrawaddy. More 




Planting rice, India. 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 73 

than half of the people are engaged in agriculture. Rice, 
wheat, millet, meat, sugar, and tea are the chief foodstuffs. 
In the number of cattle raised India leads all the other 
countries of the world. Formerly dry years caused crop 
failures, which resulted in famines. But since Great Brit- 
ain has completed the admirable railway systems, foods 
can be easily shipped to the afflicted regions. Irrigation 
has also greatly reduced suffering due to scarcity of food. 

Silk culture is steadily increasing. The soil and climate 
are admirably adapted to the production of cotton. The 
mother country furnishes an excellent market for it, so it 
is not surprising that India produces more cotton than any 
other country, except the United States. By government 
regulation the production and use of opium are rapidly de- 
creasing. The Ganges district has been called a great 
" hot-house." Besides the articles above mentioned, it 
produces indigo, opium, pepper, tobacco, cinnamon, nut- 
megs, coffee, and most of the world's jute. 

Jute. — Jute is a tall plant grown for the fibers that are 
obtained from the stalks. After the fiber has been sepa- 
rated from the woody parts of the stems, it is baled and 
shipped, to be woven into cloth. The woven cloth is used 
mainly to make sacks and other covering for goods in 
shipment. Large amounts are used also in making carpets, 
rugs, and linoleum. Burlap is usually made from this 
fiber. 

Manufacture and Commerce. — Formerly India was 
noted for its manufacture of carpets, silks, ornaments of 
gold, ivory, and precious stones made or shaped mostly 
by hand. Recently under English inspiration, modern 
factories have been established, in which machinery and 
metal wares, cotton and woolen goods, paper, oils, soaps, 



74 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



and sugar are manufactured. Although iron and coal are 
abundant, the mines have not been developed as they have 
in England. Great Britain has covered India with a net- 
work of good wagon roads and railways. She has also 
constructed a fine telegraph system. Irrigating and com- 
mercial canals have been built, and harbors have been 
improved. These have greatly promoted industry, com- 
merce, and human welfare. 

The leading exports of India are raw jute and manu- 
factures of jute, raw cotton and cotton goods, rice, oil seeds, 
wheat and flour, hides and skins, and tea. The chief im- 
ports are cotton cloth, hardware and cutlery, sugar, and 
machinery. About three fifths of the total imports come 













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A street scene in India. 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 75 

from Great Britain, while only about one fourth of the 
exports go to that country. India has little commerce 
by land, for the Himalaya Mountains act as a barrier to 
northern trade, and so most of the commerce is by sea. 
Calcutta and Bombay are the leading seaports. 

Australia. — Australia, a continent with an area equal 
almost to that of Europe, is Great Britain's second most 
important colony. While commerce and rich agricultural 
products attracted Englishmen to India, gold was one of 
the forces that drew them to Australia. In 1851 gold was 
discovered there and caused many thousands of Englishmen 
to emigrate to Australia. In a short time the Australian 
gold fields increased production, wealth, and trade in Eng- 
land. No industry profited more from the new gold fields 
than oceanic commerce. People were richer; they wanted 
more of the good things of life; more was consumed, and 
more was produced. This increased imports and exports. 

Surface and Climate. — Mountain ranges lie near the 
eastern and southeastern coast of Australia, and the west- 
ern part of the continent is a plateau, with a narrow coastal 
plain along the western side. The greater part of the 
interior of the country is a low plain. Most of the rain 
falls upon the outer side of the ranges and slopes that border 
the coastline, hence the interior is quite dry. Large areas 
of this section are deserts with a very scanty growth of 
grass and scrubs. As Australia lies in the south temperate 
zone, the summer months are December, January, and 
February. 

Agriculture. — Owing to the extensive grazing lands, 
sheep raising is the chief occupation of Australia. The 
merino sheep give this country the largest, as well as 
the finest, wool clips in the world. Since it is now possible 







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ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 77 

to keep meat at a low temperature during transportation, 
the raising of cattle has become a growing industry. The 
freezing of meat for export is absolutely necessary because 
steamers from Australia must pass through the torrid zone 
on their way to England and other countries. Butter is 
another important product. In the sections where there is 
sufficient rain, field crops are cultivated. Wheat is by far 
the most important crop of the commonwealth. 




Sheep raising, Australia. 

Minerals. — Australia is one of the world's leading pro- 
ducers of gold. There are also valuable deposits of silver, 
copper, coal, iron, tin, zinc, and lead. These minerals 
are of great commercial importance. Manufacturing has 
not yet been greatly developed. 



7 8 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Trade and Transportation. — The leading Australian 
exports are wool, gold, wheat, butter, skins and hides, beef, 
mutton, and tallow. The leading imports are iron and 
steel goods, cotton goods, clothing, and machinery. Most 
of the foreign trade is with Great Britain. Several steam- 
ship lines keep Australia in close touch with Europe and 
North America. The chief seaports of Australia are Sydney 
and Melbourne. Many railways have been laid in Aus- 
tralia. Among them is the coast road from Adelaide on 
the south by way of Melbourne and Sydney to Brisbane 
on the east. A transcontinental railroad between Port 
Augusta and Port Darwin is under construction ; also one 
from Port Augusta to Perth. Nearly all the railways of 
Australia are owned by the government. 

The Islands of New Zealand. — New Zealand, consisting 
of two large islands 1200 miles southeast of Australia, is 




A view of Sydney, Australia. 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 79 



_! ! 

NEW ZEALAND 

SCALE OF MILES 
6" 50 100 150 200 ^Nort% Cape 

SSYangarei 



one of the most thriv- 
ing colonies of Great 
Britain. It is a fine 
example of successful 
colonization. Sturdy 
sons and daughters 
of England left the 
mother country to 
colonize these moun- 
tainous islands, where 
they have been won- 
derfully successful in 
both industry and 
government. The one 
million prosperous 
New Zealanders have 
in a short time put 
two thirds of the 
area of these islands 
under cultivation and 
export annually 

$100,000,000 worth of products. Auckland, Wellington, 
Chris tchurch, and Dunedin are the chief cities of New 
Zealand. 

The chief industry is sheep raising. European countries 
are supplied with wool and mutton from millions of New 
Zealand sheep. Many cattle, too, are raised. Much beef 
and tallow, and many hides, are exported. Enormous 
quantities of butter and cheese are manufactured and 
shipped to markets 12,000 miles away. Wheat, flour, 
apples, and peaches are considerable exports. The chief 
imports are iron and steel manufactures, and cotton and 




168 Loneitud< 



8o THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Dunedin, New Zealand. 

linen goods. Most of the trade is carried on with England, 
Australia, and India. 

Coal and gold are the leading minerals. Of the former 
not enough is mined for home use; but $5,000,000 worth 
of gold is exported annually. Manufacturing is in its 
infancy, because of the lack of coal, but there are good 
coal mines which when worked more extensively will 
stimulate industrial development. At present boots, 
shoes, woolen cloth, lumber, flour, and furniture are made 
and partly supply the demand of the islands. The making 
of spirituous liquors is prohibited. 

It is claimed that New Zealand has one of the best 
governments in the world. Great freedom is allowed, and 
high standards of living prevail. Australia and New Zea- 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 8 1 

land are sometimes called " the newest England in the 
southern seas." 

Colonial Africa. — Africa consists very largely of Euro- 
pean colonies, with boundaries not always definitely fixed. 
During the last twenty-five years of the nineteenth century, 
most of the continent with its uncivilized natives passed 
into the hands of European nations. At the dawn of the 
twentieth century, the larger and better portions were 
in the possession of England, France, and Germany. The 
reason that Africa was taken by these and other nations 
is that they needed greater outlet for their overflowing 
population and rapidly increasing trade. The reason that 
it could be so easily taken was that the savage tribes who 
occupied it were so far behind in civilization that up to the 
close of the nineteenth century this large, rich continent 
was still the least important of all the continents. Great 
Britain owns the most valuable sections. 

British Colonies in South Africa. — The British colonies 
in South Africa include Bechuanaland, Rhodesia, Nyasa- 
land, and the self-governing commonwealth known as 
the Union of South Africa. England's interest in Africa 
began with the Cape of Good Hope, the southern extremity 
of the continent. This point, before the Suez Canal was 
built in 1869, was an excellent port of call for British 
vessels on their way to and from India. 

Union of South Africa. — This colony was formed in 1910 
by the union of the following provinces : Cape of Good 
Hope, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State. Most of 
the country consists of a plateau with scanty rainfall, but 
sufficient for grass. Along the southeastern coast there is 
abundant rain. On the grass lands of the interior the rais- 
ing of sheep, goats, and cattle is the chief industry. Os- 



7-i WN }°-^ 20 F 




ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 83 

trich farming is a profitable business and about 85 per cent 
of the world's supply of ostrich feathers comes from this 
region. 

Gold and diamonds are the most valuable products of 
the Union. The diamond mines near Kimberley yield 
practically all the diamonds of the world's markets. The 
output of these mines is carefully regulated in order to 
prevent the overstocking of the market and the reduction 
of prices. Most of these precious stones are sent to Lon- 
don. The Transvaal gold fields are sources of enormous 
income and form the leading gold producing district of 
the world. 

The chief exports of the Union of South Africa are gold, 
diamonds, wool and mohair, ostrich feathers, and hides 
and skins. The leading imports are food products, cotton 
cloth, clothing, iron and steel, and machinery. 

Railway building is receiving much attention. A trunk 
line extends from Cape Town through Rhodesia, giving 
transportation facilities to the interior. England hopes 
to continue this railroad to the Mediterranean Sea. This 
is the Cape-to-Cairo railroad, which is being built from 
both ends toward the interior. When completed it will be 
very helpful in developing Africa. 

British Colonies in Tropical Africa. — Riches of an 
entirely different character come from the British colonies 
in central Africa. This productive tropical region furnishes 
palm oil, gums, rubber, ebony, ivory, tropical nuts, and 
hides, in exchange for textiles, tobacco, firearms, beads, 
metal ware, trinkets, and preserved fruits. 

Egypt. — While Egypt was a vassal of Turkey, England 
became the real governing power thirty years ago. Eng- 
land's claim to a controlling part in Egypt's financial affairs 



8 4 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




A primitive method of raising water for 
irrigation, Egypt. 



lies partly in the fact 
that she owns the Suez 
Canal, which is a most 
important link in the 
shortest sea route be- 
tween India and the 
mother country. Al- 
most three fourths of 
the Canal trade is Brit- 
ish. Under British 
supervision justice has 
been established and 
the people who have 
been oppressed for 
centuries now enjoy 
freedom and prosper- 
ity. Great irrigation 
works have been con- 
structed and thou- 
sands of acres of desert 



lands reclaimed. Another evidence of British control is 
the Cape-to-Cairo railway, which England has constructed 
along the Nile River. 

British Guiana. — England does not own much terri- 
tory in South America. Her only colony there is British 
Guiana in the north, with an area a little larger than that 
of Great Britain. The tropical climate interferes with 
active industrial development in this country. Agricul- 
ture is not very important because of the small amount of 
rich soil, merely a narrow strip along the coast. Sugar 
and rice are the leading crops. The rough hilly interior 
is covered with virgin forest. There is great mineral 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 85 

wealth, chiefly gold and diamonds. This country exports 
sugar, molasses, rum, timber, rice, gold, and diamonds. It 
imports flour, tobacco, fish, machinery, hardware, meat, 
butter, and potatoes. Most of the trade is with the 
mother country. 

Canada. — The largest and most prosperous of all Eng- 
lish possessions is the Dominion of Canada, lying just 
north of the United States. It covers an area forty-two 
times that of Great Britain. While Canada is a loyal 
daughter of the mother country, she has nearly absolute 
charge of her own affairs. England's power is represented 
by a Governor-general, appointed by the king. The laws 
are made by a Parliament which consists of a Senate ap- 
pointed by the Governor, and a House of Commons elected 
by the people. The Canadian Parliament has almost as 
much power as the Congress of the United States. It is 
limited only in matters relating to foreign affairs. No 




The Assuan Dam across the Nile. The water^ above the dam is 
diverted into irrigation canals. 

British soldiers watch over Canada ; its army is composed 
entirely of Canadians. This colony is not assessed for 



86 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



even the smallest sum by England. In short, she has all 
the independence and privileges which we prize so highly 
in our country. Then what does England profit by this 
colony? Canada gives commercial preference to England. 
The duties levied by Canada on imports from the United 
Kingdom and other parts of the British Empire are much 
lower than those from foreign countries. In an industrial 
age this preferential tariff is a matter of great importance 
to Great Britain. 

Area, Surface, and Climate. — Larger than the United 
States and Alaska together, Canada, lying between 43 
and 70 north latitude, extends over nearly as many degrees 
as Europe. It is made up of immense plains in the east 






m£ «§i 






< " **<J^' * 



Canadian Houses of Parliament, Ottawa. 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 87 




Bridge across the St. Lawrence at Montreal. 

and central parts, and an extensive stretch of high plateaus 
and picturesque mountains in the west. While the ex- 
treme northern part and the adjacent ice-bound Arctic 
islands lie in the frigid zone, by far the larger part of the 
country is in the temperate belt. 

Rivers and Lakes. — Almost the entire country has 
ample rainfall, so there are many rivers, well scattered 
over the territory. The best known inland waterways are 
the Yukon, Mackenzie, Saskatchewan, Nelson, and St. 
Lawrence. Nor is there a scarcity of lakes. Half of 
four of the Great Lakes on our northern boundary 
belong to Canada. Then there are Lake Winnipeg, Great 
Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, besides scores of smaller 
ones. 

Forests. — Canada ranks next to Russia and the United 
States in its timber resources. Just south of the Arctic 
circle is a belt of fir, spruce, pine, and hemlock, between 
200 and 300 miles wide. The timber will be a great source 
of income as soon as means of transportation are pushed 
into this north land. Farther south are hard woods, such 
as elm, oak, beech, and maple. Hundreds of sawmills are 








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Longitude 



-\v% 1 i 










9° 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




A Canadian forest. 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 91 

kept busy in. these forests. In addition to the lumber the 
soft woods produce very valuable pulp for the manufac- 
ture of paper, which is sent to England and the United 
States. For a century lumbering has been a leading 
occupation. 

Fur Trade. — The earliest industry of Canada, and for 
a long time practically the only one, was fur trading. The 
great subarctic forests were, and still are filled with the 
beaver, bear, marten, muskrat, mink, lynx, sable, otter, 
and the silver and black fox. Some of these valuable fur 
bearers are § rapidly dying out. The Hudson Bay Fur- 
Trading Company has trapping stations all over the 
northern forests, along the waterways, which afford prac- 
tically the only means of communication in summer. Dog 
sleds and snowshoes are used in winter. The Company 
has its office at Winnipeg. Canada is one of the world's 
largest fur producers. Most of the pelts are sent to Lon- 
don and the United States. 

Fisheries. — The fisheries, ranking among the most 
important in the world, bring in large financial returns. 
On the Atlantic coast are found valuable fishing grounds, 
abounding in cod, halibut, herring, mackerel, haddock, 
oysters, and lobsters. The Great Lakes yield trout and 
whitefish. Salmon fishing is one of the most profitable 
occupations on the Pacific coast. Most of the fish exports . 
go to England and the United States. 

Minerals. — Our northern neighbor is almost as rich 
in variety and extent of minerals as is the United States. 
Gold, coal, silver, copper, iron, and nickel are abundant. 
Petroleum and gas are rather limited. The province of 
Quebec controls the world's market for asbestos. The 
Canadian coal fields exceed those of all Europe. Portland 



92 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

cement, clay products, and limestone also are plentiful. 
The United States buys most of Canada's metals. 

Farm Wealth. — The greatest source of wealth lies as 
yet in the products of the soil. Wheat, oats, hay, potatoes, 
barley, corn, turnips, and flax are the chief crops. West 
of Lake Winnipeg is one of the world's greatest granaries. 
Those wheat lands cover four times as many acres as the 
prairies in the Mississippi Valley. While it is very cold in 
winter, the summer days are hot and from fourteen to 
eighteen hours long. So much daily sunshine makes prime 
wheat. It has been predicted that before long, Canada will 
furnish the British Isles with all .their bread. Wheat 
ripens as far north as 56 degrees. That puts Minneapolis, 
which was formerly regarded as being near the northern 
limit of the wheat belt, in the middle of it. 

Lately people ' of other countries — Germany, England, 
and even the United States — have migrated into Canada's 
wheat region. Most of them are energetic and intelligent ; 
for great inducements are held out to such. Canada does 
not want shiftless, ignorant men, or paupers. While the 
immigration of worthy, reliable men into Canada is very 
profitable for her, it is unfortunate for our country to lose 
those who go from the United States to Canada. 

Apples, peaches, plums, pears, and grapes are raised in 
eastern Canada. The mild climate of southern Ontario, 
due to the influence of the Great Lakes, makes this region 
the leading fruit section of the Dominion. Large fruit 
shipments, especially of apples, find their way to Man- 
chester, Liverpool, and London. 

Cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs are the leading farm 
animals of Canada. The number of cattle is far greater 
than that of any other kind of domestic animals. In the 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 93 




A fruit farm, Canada. 

grazing sections of western Canada cattle are raised merely 
for beef; in eastern Canada they are raised merely for 
dairy purposes. Ontario and Quebec are the leading dairy 
provinces, and butter and cheese are among their chief 
products. 

Manufactures. — While factories are comparatively few 
in number, the unlimited supply of minerals, the abundant 
water power in the rivers, the vast lumber resources, and 
the rich farm products offer great incentives to manufactur- 
ing. Lumber, flour, iron and steel products, leather, butter 
and cheese, dressed meats, and clothing are the leading man- 
ufactured products. Raw materials, such as wool, rubber, 
cotton, and raw sugar, are imported and turned into manu- 
factured products in the eastern cities, notably Montreal. 



94 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Transportation Facilities. — Canada is bountifully sup- 
plied with water routes, even though ice bound several 
months each year. She has great continental railroads, and 
valuable canals, especially along the St. Lawrence. The 
Yukon, Mackenzie, and Saskatchewan are magnificent 
commercial highways in summer time. The St. Lawrence 
system is one of the very best. Engineers have improved 
this river, deepening and widening it in many places, so 
that now it carries large vessels 2700 miles into the interior 
of the continent. 

Railroads. — Canada is expending much energy and 
money in building railroads. The Canadian Pacific Rail- 
road connects St. John on the Atlantic with Vancouver on 
the Pacific. Owning several steamship lines on both 
oceans, it has complete control of the shortest route from 
London to Yokohama. This railway has brought Montreal 
and Yokohama within eighteen days of each other. A 




Canadian Pacific Railway Station, Winnipeg, Canada. 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 95 

new transcontinental line, the Grand Trunk Pacific, has 
recently been constructed. It connects Halifax on the 
Atlantic with Prince Rupert on the Pacific, by way of 
Quebec, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. It passes through rich 
agricultural, forest, and mineral lands, and with the steam- 
ships of the company forms a second short route from 
Great Britain to Japan. The Canadian Northern is a 
third transcontinental railroad. 

Another railroad is contemplated from Winnipeg to 
Hudson Bay, giving a shorter outlet for the wheat. Since 
Hudson Bay is open for commerce only three and a half 
months each year, the wheat shipment would have to be 
very heavy to make such a road profitable. 

As the trade between Canada and the United States is 
very active, many railways have been built connecting 
the two countries. Some of them lead to seaports on the 
Atlantic coast of the United States, thus providing ice-free 
winter outlets for Canadian trade. 

Cables. — Several cables owned by private companies 
connect Canada with England across the Atlantic. An 
all-British cable joins Canada and Australia across the 
Pacific. 

Cities. — Ottawa is the capital of Canada. Toronto and 
Hamilton are important cities on Lake Ontario. Although 
a thousand miles from the sea, Montreal is the chief sea- 
port of Canada. Engineers have made it possible for ocean 
steamers to come up to this inland city on the St. Lawrence. 
It is three hundred miles nearer England than New York is. 
Quebec is a manufacturing center. The fact that it is the 
summer port for the Grand Trunk Pacific railroad will in- 
crease its commercial importance. Halifax and St. John 
have the only ice-free harbors of eastern Canada. 



9 6 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Docks at Montreal. 



Winnipeg, on the edge of the prairies, is the greatest 
distributing center of the interior. Edmonton is a meeting 
place for hunters and trappers, and the headquarters for 
hunters' and trappers' supplies. Vancouver is the chief 
Pacific port. Steamers sail between Vancouver and Japan, 
China, and Australia. 

The exports of this great agricultural country are wood 
products, wheat, cheese, silver, flour, bacon, and other 
commodities. Its imports consist of manufactured goods. 
England needs the foods, and is glad to sell to the Canadians 
cloths, iron and steel goods, and other factory products. 

Canada and the United States. — The United States 
is in closer touch with Canada than with any other coun- 
try, for the two border on each other for 3000 miles. Both 
have equal rights to four of the greatest lakes in the world. 
The people in both countries speak the English language. 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 97 

Canada and the United States vary enough in their 
products to foster an excellent trade relation. The one is 
chiefly an agricultural country and therefore has foodstuffs 
to sell; the other is rapidly becoming a manufacturing 
nation and could exchange factory products for food. We 
need Canada's metal ores. Our forest supply isnearing 
exhaustion. We are fortunate in that the well-stocked 
Canadian forests are near by. Canada receives most of her 
imports from the United States. The relations between 
the two nations are most cordial. 

Newfoundland. — Newfoundland, an English island off 
the coast of British North America, but in no way con- 




View of Vancouver and harbor. 



98 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

nected with the government of Canada, is noted chiefly 
for its fisheries. Codfish, iron and copper ores, cod-liver 
oil, sealskins, and canned lobsters are exported. 

Coaling Stations. — In order to protect these large, 
widely scattered colonies, Great Britain has secured a 
number of small islands and towns that encircle the earth 
and form excellent landing and coaling stations for ships 
in their journeys from colony to colony. Though small, 
these are no mean possessions, as they help to secure 
England's supremacy of the sea: At the west entrance 
of the Mediterranean she owns Gibraltar, the southern 




Gibraltar. 

point of Spain ; midway across the sea, the island of 
Malta ; at its eastern end the island of Cyprus. Her 
control of Egypt secures her undisputed sway in the 
Suez Canal. 

Where the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean meet, Eng- 
land owns Aden in southwestern Arabia, also a small ad- 
joining island. The island of Ceylon, south of British 
India, and the port of Singapore at the southern extremity 



ENGLAND, FOUNDER OF GREATEST COLONIAL EMPIRE 99 

of the Malay peninsula are other English stepping stones 
in the Indian Ocean. 

The island of Hong Kong on the east coast of China is very 
helpful in getting Chinese trade and watching affairs in east- 
ern Asia. Many of the swarms of small islands in the Pacific, 
east and southeast of Australia, also belong to England. 

The Bermudas are a group of small islands in the 
Atlantic Ocean, about 600 miles east of North Carolina. 
The Bahamas, Jamaica, and Trinidad are some of the most 
important British islands of the West Indies. In the South 
Atlantic are the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. Near 
Africa, between the Equator and 20 south latitude, are St. 
Helena and Ascension Island. 

A Widely Scattered Empire. — The area of Great 
Britain's colonies and island possessions is more than ninety 
times that of the British Isles. About nine tenths of the 
British subjects live outside the British Isles. The mother 
country is very helpful and liberal to her colonies. Where- 
ever England plants her flag, law, order, and progress soon 
prevail. Because of the freedom they enjoy, British sub- 
jects in all parts of the world are loyal to the Empire. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Follow the courses of the various steamship lines between 
England's ports and her chief colonial seaports. What exports 
do they take to the colonies? What imports do they bring 
back? 

2. In what ways is Great Britain helpful to the United 
States? How does the United States help Great Britain? 

3. What kind of government has Australia? In what ways 
is it like that of our country? 

4. Find out how England acquired her colonies. Which 
of them all is of the greatest value to her? 



IOO THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

5. Collect pictures of views in the various English colonies. 
Mount them by countries on separate cardboards. 

6. Which is more valuable to England : India or the Suez 
Canal ? 

7. Make a comparative tabulated schedule of the chief prod- 
ucts of England's colonies. 

8. Make a tabulated schedule of Great Britain's interests 
in the Indian Ocean ; in the Mediterranean ; in the Atlantic ; 
in the Pacific. 

9. What good services has England rendered Australia? 
India ? Egypt ? 

10. Show how the size and wealth of an empire depends on 
the happiness of the subjects. 



CHAPTER VIII 

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN THE 
UNITED KINGDOM 

Government. — While the head of the English govern- 
ment is a king or queen, yet the government is really a 
republic, for the people govern themselves as we do in the 
United States. The legislative department consists of 
Parliament, which is made up of the House of Lords and the 
House of Commons. The Lords hold their positions for 
life, while members of the House of Commons are elected 
by the people. The term of office of the members of the 
House of Commons may end at any time that the people 
wish to be represented by other men. The real governing 
power of the British nation is the English cabinet and the 




Houses of Parliament, London. 

IOI 



102 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



House of Commons. Nearly all bills are introduced by the 
Cabinet officers, for each is a member either of the House 
of Commons or of the Lords. The House of Lords has 
much less power than the Senate of the United States, for 
it cannot defeat legislation ; it can only delay its passage. 
The English sovereign has less power than our President. 
He cannot veto a bill as the President has a right to do. 
While the English ruler has few constitutional powers, yet 
because of the feeling of loyalty and respect that the British 
people have for their sovereign, he has great influence in 
the social and political affairs of the nation. 

Suffrage . — In the United Kingdom nearly all male 
citizens of legal age have the right to vote. Years ago only 
property owners could vote, but now the right of suffrage 
belongs not only to owners of property, but also to those 
who rent land or houses. Owners of property in different 
localities have the right to vote in each of these localities. 
Many English women are demanding suffrage, and they 
expect that this right will soon be granted them. 




Home of a wealthy landowner. 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 



IO3 



Large Estates. — Although there are many small land- 
owners in the United Kingdom most of the land is held 
by a few very wealthy landowners, and is farmed by 
tenants. Laws carefully guard the rights of the tenants and 
it is quite usual for a farm to be rented by several genera- 
tions of one family. 

An English Estate. — Let us visit an English estate. 
The castle or modern mansion in which the landlord lives 
is surrounded by a 
beautiful park, laid 
out by landscape 
gardeners, with 
smooth drives 
shaded by rows of 
magnificent trees. 
Elsewhere, culti- 
vated shrubbery and 
flower beds charm 
the eye. A little 
farther off, upon a 
hillside, stands a 
native forest, with 
its crooked paths and a pretty little stream — here gurgling 
in the sunshine, there flowing deep and still at the feet of 
ancient trees. This is an ideal spot for the hunter and the 
fisherman. On the estate live a colony of people whose 
business it is to beautify the grounds and keep the property 
in repair. Foresters care for the trees ; carpenters repair 
and build fences and farm buildings ; gardeners cultivate 
vegetables and fruits; and other laborers trim hedges, 
build macadamized roads, and construct stone walls. 

At one edge of the park is a thriving town of several 




An English cottage. 



104 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

thousand inhabitants, mostly tenants of the lord. On the 
estate are many fertile farms rented to tenants. There is 
a great difference between English farm life of to-day 
and that of a hundred years ago. Better methods and 
improved machinery have increased returns and decreased 
drudgery, so that farm life in England, as in America, 
is less dull and monotonous. The farmers are more intel- 
ligent and prosperous than formerly, and therefore happier, 
and more hopeful. 

Besides the large home estate, the landlord may own 
houses and lands in London or Liverpool, rich mines, busy 
factories, and great harbors. An English landlord is 
usually not a man of leisure. Much of his time is spent in 
examining the reports and directing the activities of agents 
who look after the details of his business affairs. In short, 
the work of an English landlord is much like the manage- 
ment of a small kingdom and quite as difficult. 

Condition of Factory Workers. — Factories brought in 
many undesirable conditions. They were generally over- 
heated and poorly ventilated. Many women and young 
children were employed because they would work for less 
than men. The hours of labor were too long; and the 
close indoor work was unhealthful/ The children re- 
mained uneducated, and they were often injured by 
machinery and mistreated by the overseers. Parents 
were frequently as careless of the welfare of their children 
as the employers were. They kept them from school so 
that their earnings might bring a little more money into 
the family treasury. Because of insufficient pay, the work- 
ing classes lived in poverty and dirt; food was poor and 
scant; and the death rate was very high, which was due 
largely to frequent epidemics. After some years Parliament 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 105 

provided for better conditions. New factory laws were 
passed. Night work was prohibited, working hours re- 
duced, better ventilation of factories secured, and provision 
was made for educating factory children. About 1850 a 
Saturday half-holiday was granted. 

The well-being of the workers, due to individual and 
government efforts, has steadily advanced. The sanitary 
conditions in factories have been greatly improved, and the 
working hours repeatedly shortened. The compulsory 
education law has from time to time raised the age limit 
at which children may leave school. The laborer has risen 
in the social scale. In the gloomy days of the past the 
laws seemed to be against him. To-day his vote gives him 
more and more control of living conditions. In no country 
does the laboring class have a greater voice in legislation 
than in the United Kingdom. Parliament has done 
much for the laborer and his family. 

Old-age Pensions and National Insurance. — In 1908 
Parliament passed a law granting a small pension to every 
person over seventy years old whose annual income is less 
than $165, provided he has not been an idler or a criminal, 
and is not receiving relief from some private source. In 
191 1 the National Insurance Act was passed. This law 
provides for medical attendance and the payment of 
money to persons in time of sickness. It also provides in 
certain specified trades the payment of money in case of 
unemployment. The money comes from assessments made 
upon workers during periods of health and employment, 
from assessments levied upon employers, and also from 
government funds. The aim of these laws is the preven- 
tion of poverty in case of illness, unemployment, or old 
age. 



io6 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



The Navy and Army. — In order to protect her commerce 

and the widely scat- 
tered countries of 
the Empire, England 
maintains the largest 
navy in the world. 
The navy calls for 
thousands of men 
and an enormous 
outlay of money. 
In normal times the 
British army is small 
and is scattered 
among all parts of 
the Empire to main- 
tain peace. The 
army kept in the 
United Kingdom is 
quite small. Great 
Britain has not been 
invaded by an en- 
emy for eight and 
a half centuries, and 




(c) Underwood 6 s Underwood. 
British troops passing Westminster Abbey. 



since the country is an island, it relies upon the navy for 
protection and does not need a large army. 

Education. — England has long given much attention 
to the education of the upper classes. Her leading uni- 
versities, Oxford and Cambridge, are among the best in 
the world. For a long time Great Britain gave little 
thought to public elementary education, but to-day the 
elementary schools are receiving special attention. The 
British high schools give thorough training in secondary 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 107 

education. The increased educational advantages are 
producing finer citizens year by year. 

Noted Men and Women. — England has produced a 
larger number of noted men than any other country. A 
few may be mentioned here. Shakespeare is the greatest 
writer of plays. Tennyson has written beautiful poems. 
Bacon is a great philosopher. No finer statesman than 
Gladstone ever lived. Stanley and Livingstone were great 
explorers. Darwin, Huxley, Harvey, and Newton are 
among the world's greatest scientists. James Stuart Mill 
is only one of many learned economists. Among Eng- 
land's noted women are Queen Victoria and Queen Eliza- 
beth; Florence Nightingale, the nurse; and Elizabeth 
Barrett Browning, the poet. 

Conclusion. — England, the mother country of the 
largest and most widely scattered empire on the globe, 
deserves our admiration for her industrial and colonial 
supremacy. We may well rejoice that our country was 
colonized and founded by such a progressive nation. We 
may be glad that so many Americans have an English 
ancestry. The English language is spoken by more people 
than any other. Our English inheritance in law, customs, 
language, and literature plays no small part in the suc- 
cess of our own country. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Compare Parliament and the American Congress. 

2. Who is the present British sovereign ? 

3. Describe an English country estate. 

4. Find out' all you can about the Rhodes Scholarships. 

5. Why is it desirable for England and the United States 
to be on friendly terms ? 



What factors 

have contributed to Germany's 

industrial rise from sluggishness and 

poverty to a high place among 

the great nations ? 



1 08 



CHAPTER IX 
HOW GERMANY CAST OFF SERFDOM AND POVERTY 

The Early Part of the Nineteenth Century. — During 
the first fifty years of the nineteenth century, while Eng- 
land was enjoying her industrial and commercial suprem- 
acy, Germany was suffering from serfdom and poverty. It 
consisted of a number of small states or provinces, which 
were loosely united in a Confederation. Many wars had 
been fought with neighboring countries, and also many 
wars between different German states. The state treas- 
uries were empty; the upper classes had lost their wealth; 
and the common people had few rights except to pay 
taxes and be soldiers. When war broke out, they gave 
their lives for their country, because they were compelled 
to do so. Their patriotism was not very great and their 
services were not cheerfully rendered. Why should they 
love their country? It could not do much for them. No 
wonder then that thousands of Germans fled to the United 
States. Those who remained behind made a living as 
best they could. Many of them longed to be with their 

109 



no 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



cousins beyond the sea. If at that time the Atlantic could 
have been crossed in six days instead of six long weary weeks 
doubtless many more of the people of Germany would have 
flocked into our country. The expense of the trip, however, 
kept most of them at home. Let us consider some of 
the causes that brought about this deplorable condition. 

Lack of Union among the States. — As has been said, 
there was no real union among the many small provinces, 
of which at one time there were a hundred and eighty bound 
to each other merely as a loose Confederation, with few 
common interests and no great common cause. And what 
was still worse they were exceedingly jealous of one an- 
other. Petty, selfish motives controlled both princes and 
people. The lords supervised all the industries closely. 
Scarcely an article was produced without the consent of 
the rulers, who often behaved as if they thought the country 
existed solely for their benefit. 




Farming in olden times. 



HOW GERMANY CAST OFF SERFDOM AND POVERTY III 

Primitive Rural Conditions. — At the opening of the 
century the population was largely rural. In the west 
there were small peasant holdings. The prevailing poverty 
prevented progressive methods of agriculture. Coopera- 
tion and division of labor were practically unknown. Each 
family had to be self-sufficient ; that is, it had to produce 
all its necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. The father, 
mother, and all the children worked at the common task 





Peasant women spinning and weaving. 



of making a living. Every family was its own planter, 
harvester, miller, and baker. It raised and butchered its 
own stock; cured and smoked its own meat. It was its 
own mason, carpenter, and repairer. Together the mem- 
bers of the family planted, reaped, and spun the flax. Then 
they wove the thread into linen, dyed the cloth, and 
made the garments. They brewed their drinks, and made 
by hand their soap and candles. No high degree of skill 



112 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Medieval city wall, Rothenberg. 



HOW GERMANY CAST OFF SERFDOM AND POVERTY 113 

could be produced under such circumstances. The best 
thing about all this was that the people, young and old, 
learned how to work and to cling to a task until it was done. 

Landed Estates. — In the eastern provinces large es- 
tates were held by incompetent landlords. To each of 
them belonged a community of laborers, who were in effect 
merely serfs. Each of the peasants at first owned a small 
tract of land. He was compelled to surrender a part of all 
harvests to his lord, besides giving him a certain number 
of days' labor each year free of charge. Heavy taxes were 
exacted of the bondmen. Their burdens became more and 
more irksome until at last the master owned everything. 
The serfs had no personal liberty. They could not hire 
themselves out as they pleased, for they belonged to the 
estate. They could not marry whom they pleased without 
the consent of the lord. Their children also were chattels. 
Permission to study or learn a trade had to be obtained 
from the master, who had the further right to apply cor- 
poral punishment whenever he deemed it necessary. By 
and by men began to realize the awful injustice of such 
conditions. One by one the provinces put an end to this 
serfdom. By 18 16 all German serfs had become freemen. 
That was a great step toward promoting industrial welfare. 

Town Life. — About a fourth of the population lived in 
towns, but in many of them half of the people were engaged 
in farming or stock raising. There were few cities in those 
days, and a town of 10,000 was considered very large. 
In 1800 there were fewer towns with 10,000 inhabitants 
than there were cities of 100,000 in 1900. Factories were 
entirely unknown, but the laborers devoted themselves to 
specific occupations. Some spent all their time spinning 
or weaving in their own houses. Many men followed a 



114 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

given trade; as baking, butchering, or tailoring. They 
did not hire themselves out to one man, but went about, 
upon call, from house to house; just as physicians and 
painters do now in our country. 

The Effect of War upon Germany. — For centuries 
war was a common occupation in Europe. Germany, 
situated in the heart of the continent, often became the 
common battle ground even when she did not have a con- 
flict of her own. That meant serious loss. Crops were 
destroyed, homes were burned, animals were stolen, and 
strong robust young men were killed, or maimed so as to 
become unfit for successful industry. War, too, always 
plunged the people deeper and deeper into debt. So there 
was very little capital to put into industry and when, about 
the middle of the nineteenth century, manufacturing 
began to be developed, Germany had to borrow vast sums 
of money, at a high rate of interest, from other nations, 
mostly from Belgium and England. At the same time 
Holland could borrow all she wanted at from 3 to 6 per 
cent, because she had a better industrial standing among 
nations than Germany. 

Duties on Interstate Trade. — It is almost impossible 
to believe that the German states levied customs duties 
on products carried from state to state, from city to city, 
and even from the country into the towns. But it is true, 
because each small community wanted to protect its own 
industries and to force its people to produce all that their 
markets called for, no matter how little fitted for it they 
might be. This meant waste of energy and high cost of 
living. Little by little certain provinces entered into com- 
pacts with one another to remove the tariff on goods that 
they exchanged. By 18 18 a tariff union was formed, assur- 



HOW GERMANY CAST OFF SERFDOM AND POVERTY 1 15 

ing free trade among eighteen states. Then goods began 
to move freely from one to another of these provinces and 
the increased exchange demanded more production, and 
better means of transportation. 

Transportation Facilities. — When the eighteenth century 
gave place to the nineteenth, German transportation 
facilities were poor indeed. The wagon roads were deep 
beds of mud in rainy seasons, heavy masses of dust in 
summer, and rough frozen ruts in winter. One German 
prince is reported to have broken twenty-five wheels on 
one trip, because of the wretched roads. At that time it 
cost $85 to go from Leipzig to Frankfurt and it required 
an entire week; for the only way to travel was by post 
wagon. The same trip can now be made in a few hours 
for five or six dollars. The best and practically the only 
means of sending freight was by sailboat on the rivers, 
but the rates were so high that long shipments were out 
of the question. The year 18 17 marks a great event in 
the industrial triumphs of Germany; for then the first 
steamboats were tried on the Weser River. Before long 
all the rivers were carrying products by steam. The great- 
est boon to German commerce came with the introduction 
of the railroad in 1835. At first only short lines were built, 
connecting local points; but soon thousands of miles of 
railroads connected distant cities. In the meantime 
Macadam of Scotland had discovered a new method of 
building substantial wagon roads. Germany immediately 
adopted the macadamized highways, which formed valuable 
arteries of trade from outlying districts to railroad centers. 

Early in the century there were great differences in the 
prices paid for the same article in the various provinces. 
By 1840, when free trade between the states was assured 



Il6 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

and the methods of transportation had been improved, 
prices became, not merely more nearly uniform, but lower. 
Now people in each district began to devote themselves 
to the production of those articles for which their district 
was best adapted. The consequent increased production 
helped to meet the greater demands caused by improved 
shipping; and yet the supply was insufficient. 

Beginning of the Factory System. — Next to food, the 
greatest demands are for clothing ; hence the spinners and 
weavers early profited by the improved industrial condi- 
tions. Community spinning mills were established at 
waterfalls in the hills or among the mountains. Weaving 
companies, formed to supply the necessary exports, engaged 
individual families to work for them. Spinning and weav- 
ing machines were run first by hand, then by animal power, 
and finally by water power. The spinning jenny was in- 
troduced long after it had come into use in England, but 
it proved just as great a boon to the Germans as to the 
English. By the middle of the century the introduction 
of steam power made possible a wonderful increase in the 
manufacture of textiles. This caused the development 
of the factory, though for a long time much weaving con- 
tinued to be done in the homes, and some of it is still done 
there. 

The Iron Industry. — The two decades between 1850 
and 1870 marked the beginning of wholesale manufacture, 
not only in textiles but also in the metals. Improved 
methods in mining caused a great increase in the produc- 
tion of coal, and the iron manufactures were revolutionized 
in the middle of the century because coal was substituted 
for charcoal in the smelting of the iron. As a result the 
country soon entered upon its wonderful machine-making 



HOW GERMANY CAST OFF SERFDOM AND POVERTY 117 

age. Before 1850 not only England, but Belgium and 
France as well, surpassed Germany in iron output. By 
1870 the latter had outstripped both her neighboring rivals, 
and in the early dawn of the present century she surpassed 
even England. To-day she ranks second among the world's 
iron producers. 

Science Applied to Industry. — About the time that 
steam came into general use, the Germans began to realize 
that scientific study applied to production assured greater 
success than random experimenting. In the universities 
the laws of nature and the forms of matter were studied as 
they never had been studied before in any country, to the 
end that every effort at production should be crowned with 
success, whether in the paving of a street, the raising of 
potatoes, or the making of a toy. Nothing was to be left 
to chance. Seventy per cent success in mining, farming, 
or manufacturing was not to be any longer accepted. Men 
were determined that success should equal 100 per cent 
of the effort expended. No wonder that business expanded. 
Between 1850 and 1870 insurance companies were organized, 
which is an evidence that cooperation, mutual helpfulness, 
and confidence of man in man had taken the place of hatred, 
jealousy, and mistrust. During the same time many 
stock companies were organized for the purpose of develop- 
ing mines, factories, railroads, and banks. Trade grew so 
fast that it called for and obtained new and uniform laws, 
removing ancient stumbling blocks and regulating com- 
merce. 

Factories Give Rise to New Social Conditions. — The 
industrial changes brought about new conditions of life. 
People moved from the country to the towns, from their 
individual cottages to rented suites in large apartment 



Il8 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

houses. Cities grew faster than in any other country except 
the United States. Even some of the farmers, like their 
city cousins, left their homes for the factory in the morn- 
ing and returned at night. Much of the farm work was 
left to the women. The city streets were thronged with 
people as never before. Housing problems of sanitation, 
plumbing, heating, and lighting presented themselves. 
Changes of all kinds came thick and fast. 

Formerly the work of men and of women was the same ; 
now it became different. Then one man might work at a 
variety of trades ; now each devoted himself to one. But 
the wages increased; the people became thriving and 
happy. The population grew rapidly. By 1870 great 
pride was taken in the feeling of German brotherhood. 

Wisdom out of Misfortune. — During the many years 
of serfdom, industrial weakness, and poverty through 
which Germany passed, there were wise men who kept 
their brains busy day and night thinking of plans for the 
betterment of the German people. While some men re- 
moved the interstate tariffs on commercial products, others 
introduced steamboats and railroads. Some developed 
mines, and others built factories. Instead of being com- 
pletely discouraged over the defeat in a war, they bravely 
said, " We must free our peasants and give them the right 
of citizenship. Then they will be more intelligent, and 
gladly serve our country in her hour of need." When the 
great Emperor Napoleon defeated the Germans at the 
battle of Jena in 1806, the most thoughtful men said, " We 
must educate oar children, so that this will never happen 
again. The nation that has the schools has the future." 
And then they began the development of their modern 
system of education. 



HOW GERMANY CAST OFF SERFDOM AND POVERTY 119 

The Birth of the German Empire in 1870-1871. — While 
Germany was still merely a confederation of states, Prussia 
made itself the leading province by successful wars with 
Denmark and with Austria. So powerful did Prussia grow 
that France was alarmed, and at last war broke out between 
them. The occasion of the war was a dispute as to whether 
a prince of the royal house of Prussia should or should not 
be permitted to accept the throne of Spain. The French, 
believing that such an arrangement would endanger their 
country, opposed it, but the Prussian king, William, refused 
to promise to prevent it. The Prussian prime minister, 
Bismarck, helped to inflame public opinion, and on July 
19, 1870, France declared war. 

Bismarck desired the war because he believed it would 
unify the German peoples and so make a propitious be- 
ginning of a great empire under Prussian leadership. His 
hopes were realized. The many German states joined in 
the common cause and fought so successfully that the 
Prussian king captured Paris in January, 1871, and thus 
the Germans gained full possession of the middle Rhine, 
two large rich provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) on its west 
bank, and $1,000,000,000 war indemnity. But the great- 
est victory was that the German states had so far forgotten 
their jealousies of one another that they were able to unite 
into one strong country. It was agreed that the king of 
Prussia should be the emperor of the new Germany. The 
twenty- three states swore to be loyal to the Fatherland; 
and William I, later called William the Great, became the 
first emperor of modern Germany. Then the people went 
to work in real earnest, not merely for their various states, 
but for the nation which bound them together as one great 
family. 



HOW GERMANY CAST OFF SERFDOM AND POVERTY 121 

Questions and Exercises 

i. The United States, too, was once merely a confederation 
of states. Find out what the conditions of prosperity were at 
that time. 

2. Why did many Germans emigrate to the United States? 

3. What characteristics of the German people have enabled 
them to become a great commercial nation? 

4. Make a list of the natural resources of Germany. 

5. Which had more to do with German progress, — the nat- 
ural resources or the characteristics of the people ? 

6. Do you see any resemblances between the early industrial 
development of Germany and of England ? 

7. What manly virtues do peace and industry develop? 



CHAPTER X 
MODERN GERMANY 

The New Industrial Era. — Although much had been 
accomplished in the industries before 1870, it was only the 
early dawn of a great era of prosperity. There were still 
many house industries ; factories were comparatively few. 
The articles manufactured were often clumsy and crude, 
but always durable and reliable ; nevertheless they could 
never compete with the far superior factory products of 
England. The two French provinces that had been gained 
in the war taught the Germans many valuable lessons, 
especially how to improve the quality of their manufactures. 
Before 1871 much of the money used to build up the facto- 
ries, had to be borrowed at high rates of interest from 
foreign lands. After 187 1 part of the war indemnity could 
be invested in manufacturing enterprises which required 
more and more of the labor of the nation. 

From Agriculture to Manufacturing. — In the course of 
time the rapidly increasing population became too large 
to be supported by the food that could be raised on German 
soil. People were compelled to turn their attention to the 
making of articles that could be sold in foreign markets. 
These factory products had to pay for imported food. 
Necessity, then, drove this country to manufacturing, and 
the increasing prosperity promoted the change. The tran- 
sition from house industry to factory employment caused 
considerable suffering to the laboring classes in Germany, 
as it had in England, but it was not so severe, for the change 
came more gradually. 



MODERN GERMANY 



123 



The industrial activity, together with the new national 
aims, necessitated a uniform money system, which was 
finally secured in 1873. The large surplus of factory prod- 
ucts caused the nation to develop international trade, not 
only with her European neighbors, but with countries far 
away beyond the seas. The government gave subsidies to 
some manufacturers, to enable them to undersell their 
competitors in foreign markets. 





A German forest. 

Germany's Natural Resources. — While the great indus- 
trial progress of Germany is largely due to the energy and 
perseverance of the people, yet the natural advantages of 
the country have been important factors. Location, surface, 
climate, soils, minerals, forests, and waterways are the chief 
geographic influences in the development of Germany. 



124 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Location and Climate. — The location of Germany is 
both an advantage and a disadvantage. Her position in 
the heart of the most highly developed continent, where 
she is surrounded by seven prominent productive nations, 
is an asset because it affords excellent trade opportunities. 
These surrounding countries are good markets for her prod- 
ucts and from them she receives articles that she lacks. 
There is also a good income from the transit trade which 
crosses her territory from the neighbors on one side to those 
on the other. On the other hand likelihood of war is in- 
creased in proportion to the number of neighbors. Again 
Germany is favored by her two fine water boundaries, the 
Baltic and the North seas. On the whole, it may be said 
that the location of the country for trade is excellent. 

Her position between 47 ° and 56 north latitude places 
Germany in the North Temperate Zone, the most favorable 
to man's progress. But being in the northern half of the 
zone she has the cool temperate rather than the warm tem- 
perate climate. The mountains at the south shut out the 
warm, southern breezes, while the low plains at the north 
invite the rigorous winter winds ; hence a large part of the 
year is cold. The weather is tempered considerably by the 
mild breezes from the Atlantic, but their influence is less 
felt in eastern Germany, where consequently the contrasts 
between summer and winter are greater than in the west. 
The rainfall is ample to make this country compare favor- 
ably with others in its returns from field, garden, and 
forest. 

Surface. — The surface features of Germany consist of 
every variety of landscape except the very highest moun- 
tains. In the northern part is a great stretch of lowland, 
which occupies the larger part of the country. The land 



MODERN GERMANY 125 

gradually rises from the lowlands in the north to the high- 
lands, ending finally in the majestic snow-covered German 
Alps of the south. The green valleys afford fine pastures, 
which give rise to profitable stock raising. The forests, 
covering mountain slopes, hill sides, and sandy lowlands, 
are noted the world over for their beauty as well as for their 
valuable timber. Germany's scenery has attracted many 




A scene in the Hartz Mountains, Germany. 

tourists who contribute much to the prosperity of the coun- 
try, for they need food and shelter, and frequently buy 
articles to take home. The tourist trade is an important 
occupation in most European countries. 

The tourist interests have received attention ever since 
1870. Munich alone has had more than 500,000 guests 
annually, almost as many as its inhabitants, and they spend 
millions of dollars for board and lodging, besides hundreds of 



126 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



thousands of dollars for souvenirs, to say nothing of the 
sums paid for theaters, concerts, street-car service, and 
other incidental expenses. In 1905 the Munich railroad 
authorities received $4,000,000 for passenger tickets and 
baggage charges. Railways have been built into the very 
heart of the mountains; and wayside inns are found at 

convenient intervals 
along the many for- 
est and highland 
paths. Scenic im- 
provement societies 
have been formed to 
preserve and culti- 
vate the beauties of 
nature. 

Household Indus- 
tries in the Forests. 
— The evergreen, 
beech, maple, wal- 
nut, and oak forests 
that grow on barren 
lowlands and non- 
productive highland 
slopes are well scat- 

A German toy shop. tered throughout the 

German Empire. They are of inestimable value to whole- 
sale manufacturers in large cities. Besides, they give rise 
to many small household industries in the midst of the 
forests, such as the manufacture of wooden clocks in the 
Black Forest, and of willow baskets, matches, wood pulp, 
and celluloid in the forests along the Main River. In other 
places musical instruments, such as violins and zithers, are 





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MODERN GERMANY 127 

made by hand. Toy making, which originated in the 
forests, is still carried on there to some extent. Dolls, 
furry animals, boats and ships, wooden soldiers, dominoes, 
the whole menagerie of Noah's ark, guns, tool chests, and 
toy music boxes are made of wood. Toy models of houses 
are made of papier-mache, that is, a mixture of wood 
pulp, clay, and glue. 

Many families devote themselves to the manufacture of 
wooden animal toys. The father makes the cattle; the 
mother, the sheep ; the older brother, the horses ; the sister 
makes the horns and tails ; and the youngest member of 
the household pastes them on. Finally the grandfather 
paints them and then they are ready for the market of the 
world. Thus the humblest homes in Germany play a part 
in international trade. It is a poorly paid business ; for 
all this labor the family receives the sum of four dollars for 
six thousand toys. This is probably the poorest paid work 
of modern German industries. 

German Forest Conservation. — Germany is very proud 
of her forests, which cover one fourth of the area of the 
country. One third of them belong to the state govern- 
ments and the crown ; and one fifth are the property of 
various communities. The German word " Wald," mean- 
ing "forest," occurs in the names of many places; for 
example, " Schwarzwald," the " Black Forest," and 
" Thuringerwald," the "'Thuringian Forest." While they 
yield abundant timber, the forests do not decrease; for 
no waste is allowed. Men, called foresters, are specially 
trained to supervise and care for the woods. Only mature 
trees are cut down, and a sapling is planted in the 
place of each tree removed. Underbrush, which readily 
catches and spreads fire, is not permitted to grow. No 



128 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS ; 

people understand forest conservation better than the 
Germans do. 

The German Soil. — Nine tenths of the land in Germany 
is productive. The remaining one tenth comprises marshes, 
swamps, mountain rocks, and sandy wastes. The area of 
fertile soil, suitable for field and garden crops, is about one 
half of the total productive area. The tracts of poor soil 
and steep slopes are occupied by permanent pastures and 
forests. 

Improvement in Agriculture. — For hundreds of years 
prior to the nineteenth century agriculture in Germany 
was carried on with almost no improvement. Poor methods 
of farming were used and the yield of farm products was 
extremely low. About 1812, one man, who had studied 
the improvements in English farming, wrote and lectured 
much about better methods in agriculture. After a time 
his advice was followed by the large landlords ; and as soon 
as the small landowners saw the good results of the new 
methods they too adopted them. ' Agricultural colleges, 
which were established during the first half of the nineteenth 
century did much to improve farming. They introduced 
modern rotation of crops and better methods of cultivating 
the soil. The old-fashioned tools were discarded, and be- 
cause the Germans could not at that time make better 
ones they imported farm implements from England. In 
due time the land was more carefully fertilized; greater 
pains were exercised in the selection of seed ; new varieties 
of plants were developed ; and soils were carefully studied 
in order to determine the crops best adapted to them. As 
a consequence the farming lands were increased con- 
siderably in area, from one third of the country in 1800 
to almost one half in 1900 ; and with this increase in 



MODERN GERMANY 



129 




i 3 o 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




NORTH 
SEA 



Sugar Beets 



Leading agricultural products of Germany. 

acreage came a greater increase in the yield per acre. 

Agriculture at the Present Time. — Agriculture is a 
more important industry in Germany than it is in Great 
Britain, because her territory is more extensive, her conti- 
nental climate gives her a greater variety of crops, and 
her sunny harvest season is better adapted to the gathering 
of the grains and hay than are the foggy summers of Great 
Britain. The leading crops of Germany are potatoes, rye, 
oats, hay, barley, wheat, and sugar beets. 

Grains. — The production of rye and oats is far greater 
than that of wheat and barley. In the yield of rye and 
barley Germany ranks second, being excelled only by 
Russia, which is a much larger country. In the yield of 
oats Germany ranks third, being outranked by the United 



MODERN GERMANY 



131 



States and Russia. While rye is the chief bread cereal of 
the German people, yet a larger increase in wheat produc- 
tion over that of rye indicates a growing use of wheat 
bread. In normal times much rye from Russia and wheat 
from Argentina and the United States are imported. 

Potatoes. — In the production of potatoes Germany 
excels all other countries. Potatoes are a favorite article 
of food among the common people. Moreover, they have 
been much used lately in the manufacture of alcohol. 

Sugar Beets. — The sugar beet is a fleshy root resembling 
the common beet and is from one to three inches in diameter 
across the top. It 
is white and often 
gently tapering. It 
grows in any soil 
that produces pota- 
toes, and flourishes 
in a cooler climate 
than the sugar cane. 
The amount of sugar 
in a beet depends 
more upon the qual- 
ity of its juice than 
upon its size, and is 
increased by prop- 
erly fertilizing the 
land. The beet re- 
quires less tedious 
labor in planting 

, , A , , , Cultivating sugar beets. 

than the cane but 

the work of cultivation is more arduous. When the roots 

are harvested they are washed, sliced, and put into reser- 



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132 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

voirs of hot water to extract the juice, which is boiled 
down and refined into sugar. 

At present the world produces as much beet sugar as 
cane sugar. Germany ranks first in the production of 
sugar beets and in the manufacture of beet sugar. Great 
Britain is Germany's best market for this product. Much 
of the German sugar is sent also to Norway, Canada, 
Japan, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Uruguay, Nether- 
lands, and Chile. Five causes explain Germany's lead in 
beet sugar. They are : suitable climate and soil ; pains- 
taking cultivation; the research spirit of the Germans, 
which discovered the best method of extracting the sugar 
from the beets ; the tariff on cane sugar imports ; and the 
government bounties on exported beet sugar. 

Other Crops. — The other noteworthy crops of Ger- 
many are hops, tobacco, and fruits. Intensive truck 
gardening and flower culture receive much attention 
throughout the country, both to meet the demands for 
food and to satisfy the sense of beauty. Increasing interest 
is taken in greenhouse plants which rival the flowers of 
sunny Italy and France. Fruit trees, especially plums, 
apples, pears, and cherries, surround the villages and line 
the country roads. Grapes are raised on the terraced slopes 
of many hills. Every one has heard of the luscious purple 
fruit that ripens in the vineyards on the banks of the Rhine. 

Animal Industries. — Many meadows abound in western 
and northern Germany, where the sea causes an unusually 
damp atmosphere, favorable to the growth of grass. They 
are also found on the plateaus and mountain slopes in the 
south, where there is a greater condensation of moisture 
than in the warm lowlands. Sixteen per cent of the area of 
Germany consists of natural pasture lands. These grazing 



MODERN GERMANY 133 

areas and meadows furnish food for large numbers of live 
stock. The principal cattle and dairying interests are 
located in the Bavarian Alps and other southern highlands, 
and in certain sandy limestone districts along the northern 
coast near Holland. Many cheese and butter factories 
have been built in the dairy sections. 

The sheep industry, which was prominent before i860, 
has fallen off considerably lately on account of the recent 
competition in wool production by Australia and Argentina. 
A limited number of sheep and also of horses are raised in 
the eastern provinces where the rainfall and consequently 
the grass is less abundant than in the west. Hog raising, 
in which Germany ranks among the foremost countries 
on earth, is on the increase, inasmuch as pork forms a large 
part of the flesh food of the people. Even the poorest 
peasant fattens one or more hogs a year. Poultry raising 
on a small scale is quite general, especially in the east ; but 
wholesale production is practically undeveloped. Conse- 
quently the imports of live and dressed poultry and eggs 
are heavy. About one fourth of the honey made in Europe 
comes from bees cared for in Germany. The fisheries in 
inland waters and on the North Sea employ between thirty 
and forty thousand men. Still the fish imports amount to 
twice as much as the value of those caught at home, in spite 
of the efforts of the government and local fish associations 
to promote this source of food supply. Although there 
has been such wonderful progress in late years in the ani- 
mal industries of this country, meat is still a large part of 
her imports. 

Mineral Wealth. — Germany is one of the richest coun- 
tries in the world in minerals. For sixty or seventy years 
she has lost no time or energy in developing this underground 



134 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Munich o C 



Coal 
:'■; Lignite 
Iron Ore 
z z Zinc 
c c Copper 
s s Silver 
l u Lead 
n im Nickel 



Chief minerals of Germany. 



wealth. Her greatest mineral region lies in the middle belt 
of the country. Extending eastward to Russia and west- 
ward to Belgium, and along the Rhine as far north as Hol- 
land, it occupies . fully a third of the area of Germany. 
Here are unusual deposits of coal, both hard and soft, and 
also of iron ore. These form the basis of modern Germany's 
industrial success. Mines and smelting works employ 
one fifth of the German laboring classes. Coal, which is 
everywhere the mainstay of the manufacturing industry, is 
even more abundant in Germany, than in Great Britain, 
though at present her output is still excelled by the United 
States and England. It is estimated that the rich mines 
along the lower Rhine will last 1300 years if 100,000,000 



MODERN GERMANY 



135 



tons are mined annually. Another large coal field lies in 
southeastern Germany. 

Germany has other rich mineral deposits. It is unsur- 
passed in the production of zinc, potash salts, and litho- 
graphic stone. Nickel, copper, silver, and lead also yield 
handsome returns. There are inexhaustible supplies of 
slate, marble, and fine building stone, as well as of table 
salt. The potash salts, valuable as a fertilizer, have be- 
come a leading export. Only a small part of the product 
is used on the home farms; in normal times the greater 
part goes to England and the United States. 

Modern German Manufactures. — In addition to the 
marvelous development of production in Germany on farms 
and in the mines since the beginning of the nineteenth cen- 
tury wonderful changes have also taken place in manu- 
factures. In the first place the making of articles merely 
for personal or family needs has been replaced by wholesale 
production for the masses. Household industries have 
given way more and more to factories. However, we must 
not believe that the factory has robbed the home of all its 
part in manufactures ; for silks and velvets of superior 
quality are still woven in private homes; toys also are 
made by people in their own dwellings ; pottery products, 
certain kinds of metal wares, as well as other articles, are 
even yet, to a limited extent, home manufactures. Division 
of labor has been pushed so far that no one can become mas- 
ter of a complete trade. New materials are substituted for 
old ones ; for example, iron for wood, and cement for stone. 
Better and better products are turned out faster and faster 
to meet the demands of an ambitious and energetic people. 

Iron and Steel Industries. — The German iron and steel 
industries are the most important in Europe. Much of 



136 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



A modern German locomotive. 

these products is consumed in the making of machinery 
for mining, smelting, spinning, weaving, and other indus- 
tries. In late years bridges and buildings have been con- 
structed largely of iron and steel. Locomotives, street 
railways, iron steamships, steel furniture, steel rails, fire- 
arms, skates, saws, files, and cutlery are made in the many 
cities clustered about the Rhine. As one rides through that 
part of the country around Essen, where the largest steel 
mills in the world are located, the cities look like forests 
of smokestacks, and the noise of machinery fills the air. 

Textile Industries. — Even before the factories were 
introduced, Germany had a reputation for her linen and 
woolen fabrics, which grew out of her sheep industry and 
the raising of flax. Now she produces fewer sheep and 
manufactures more woolen cloth, chiefly from the raw 
material which she receives from abroad. Breslau has 
large woolen factories. Cotton manufacturing is also 
extensively carried on, especially at Cologne, Elberfeld, 
and Chemnitz, the latter sometimes called the Manchester 
of Germany. Silks and velvets are made in the towns 
centering around Cologne. Germany depends upon the 
United States for her raw cotton, upon China and Italy 
for the raw silk, and partly upon Russia for flax. Before 



MODERN GERMANY 



137 



the Great War she experimented with cotton culture in her 
African colonies in the hope of making herself less de- 
pendent upon others for this raw material. 

The Chemical Industry. — The chemical industry ranks 
third among German manufactures. German chemists un- 
derstand the art of extracting valuable by-products from 
plants, animals, and minerals. Materials which are usu- 
ally called waste are taken into the German laboratories. 
All kinds of experiments are tried with them until they 
yield something profitable. In 1827 the first chemical 
laboratory was established at one of the universities, where 




Rolling steel plates in a German steel works. 

men tried many experiments and made some valuable 
combinations of acids and salts. To-day there are many 
such laboratories not only in universities but in factories 
as well. Her early building up of schools and the research 
habit are now making Germany industrially efficient. 



i 3 8 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




A chemical laboratory. 



Great sums of money are invested in the manufacture of 
chemicals and they yield large annual dividends. In i860 
Germany was compelled to import almost all her dyes. 
Fifty years later she was able to furnish the world with 
four fifths of all the dyestuffs used. She imports coal tar 
from other countries, manufactures it into dyes, and sends 
them back to those same countries at greatly advanced 
prices. 

A striking case of chemical development is that of in- 
digo. Some years ago the raising of the indigo plant was 
a flourishing business in India and was controlled by the 
English. From the coal-tar by-product a German chemist 
learned to extract indigo. Within a few years England 
was buying more indigo annually from Germany than she 
had previously bought from India. Some of Germany's 



MODERN GERMANY 



139 



iron ore contains phosphorus, which lowers the quality of 
the steel made from the iron. In 1868 a process was dis- 
covered of separating the phosphorus from the ore. The 
phosphorus thus obtained is now manufactured into a 
commercial fertilizer worth $45,000,000 a year. By 1910 
Germany excelled all other countries in the chemical in- 
dustry, and her chemical products each year were more 
valuable than all the machinery she produced. 

Electrical Industries. — Another of Germany's most 
profitable sources of income is her electrical industries. 
Thirty years ago the use of electricity was almost unknown 
except in telegraphy. To-day it enters into scores of indus- 
tries; such as electric railways, lighting of houses, tele- 
phones, electric motors, and wireless telegraphy. Thou- 
sands of people are employed, and billions of money are 




A German electrical works. 



140 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

invested in these industries. Germany leads all Europe 
and ranks second in the world in electrical industries. This 
country has more than a third of the continent's electric rail- 
ways, and Germans have built many of the roads for other 
European countries, and some for South America. She 
manufactures more electrical machinery than any other 
nation except the United States; and exports much of it 
to other nations. 

Other Manufactures. — While iron and steel goods, tex- 
tiles, and chemicals are the leading manufactured products, 
yet there are many other important manufactures. Ger- 
many is renowned for its book-publishing business, whose 
chief center is Leipzig. Beet sugar, beer, alcohol, musical 
instruments, laces, tobacco, leather, furniture, and jute 
fabrics are a few of the many products that are extensively 
manufactured. 

"Made in Germany." — During the last thirty years 
and more, articles " made in Germany " have found then- 
way into every quarter of the earth. While such products 
are not as a rule noted for their elegance they are accept- 
able for their serviceableness. Germany can make and 
does make some beautiful things, but most of her manu- 
factures are useful rather than beautiful. This policy won 
for her so much international trade that she has gained 
the second rank among the nations, next to England, in 
foreign commerce. 

Commerce of Germany. — From a deplorable condition 
of domestic trade and a very limited foreign commerce, 
Germany has developed into one of the three leading com- 
mercial nations. The railroads, navigable rivers, and 
canals provide efficient means of transportation within 
the country itself; and German ships bring raw materials 



MODERN GERMANY I 4 I 

from all parts of the world and carry away the products of 
German factories to all lands. 

The Rivers of Germany. — Germany is rich in navigable 
rivers. The Rhine, Weser, Elbe, Oder, and Vistula are 
excellent trade highways connecting the north with the 
south ; and the Danube is most valuable in connecting Ger- 
many with southeast Europe. In the last decades Ger- 
many has steadily extended and improved her waterways. 













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A scene on the Rhine. 

The channels of the rivers have been deepened, the banks 
have been walled up with masonry, and ships adapted to 
the rivers have been built. 

The Rhine River is the greatest inland commercial water- 
way in the Empire. Within twenty-five years, more than 
$5,000,000 have been spent on the bed of this stream alone. 
It is the most beautiful of all European rivers, and has 
long been far famed for its grim ruined castles and ancient 



142 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

towers with their countless echoes of the past. Many 
legends and stories cluster about the Rhine. Fantastic 
tales are told of imprisoned princesses, and kings' children 
turned to stone, of dragons, and whirlpools, and sirens 
enchanting sailors into destruction. While the Germans 
love this river for its romantic legends and historical 
associations, they are to-day putting their best efforts into 
making old Father Rhine a thoroughly modern waterway. 
The 10,000 steamers plying up and down the stream, 
carrying coal, iron, grain, wine, lumber, and factory prod- 
ucts, pass great national monuments, fruitful vineyards, 
strong fortresses, and busy wharves of thriving cities. 
The Rhine and the Elbe carry German goods toward the 
North Sea, whence the products start upon their ocean 
journeys toward the west. Several other rivers, farther 
east, carry freight to the Baltic Sea. The Danube trans- 
ports merchandise from southern Germany, southeast into 
Austria-Hungary, and through the Balkan states to the 
Black Sea. 

Canals. — Natural east and west water routes were not 
nearly so plentiful as those between the south and the 
north. So canals were built from river to river, connecting 
the German waters with those of France, Austria-Hungary, 
and Russia. The Great Midland Canal unites all the 
rivers from the Vistula to the Rhine. The Kaiser Wilhelm 
Canal extends from the mouth of the Elbe in the North Sea 
to Kiel, an important port on the Baltic. This canal, 
sixty-one miles long, greatly increases the trade of the 
Baltic region, for it saves the ships much time and many 
possible dangers incident to the cold, stormy water route 
north of Denmark. Including rivers and canals Germany 
has nearly 9000 miles of navigable waterways. 



MODERN GERMANY 



143 




The Kaiser Wilhelm Canal. 



Modern German Railroads. — In 1835 Germany began 
the construction of railroads. At first the roads were 
built with private means. About 1880 the state began to 
build new railways and to buy old ones ; and to-day the 
government owns almost all the railroads. No country 
offers cheaper transportation than Germany. The rail- 
roads, extending in all directions, rank next to those of the 
United States in mileage, equipment, and importance. 
Within this country are many transcontinental railroad 
lines knitting firmly together all parts of Europe. Thus 
Germany has become the heart in which the great trade 
highways center and from which they radiate. It is the 
midland through which pass the routes that connect Copen- 
hagen on the north with Rome on the south, Petrograd 



144 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




An electric railway in Germany. 



in the northeast with Lisbon in the southwest, Constanti- 
nople in the southeast with London in the northwest. 
Almost any city in Europe can be reached from Berlin 
within twenty-four hours. Germany's position in the heart 
of the continent gives her great railroad advantages for 
European trade over her nearest rivals, England and France. 

Bagdad Railroad. — Because Germany supported Turkey 
at a time when she was in trouble, the Sultan gave the Ger- 
mans the right to build a railroad to the Persian Gulf by 
way of Bagdad. Such a road, when completed, would 
enable German freight cars to reach the Persian Gulf by 
way of Berlin, Vienna, Constantinople, and Bagdad with- 
out unloading, thus giving extraordinary facilities for ori- 
ental trade. 

Postal Service. — Not until after 1830 was any provision 
made by the government to give mail service to the rural 



MODERN GERMANY 145 

population living in remote villages. Since the close of 
the nineteenth century, mail has been delivered every day, 
including Sunday, in every city, town, and hamlet of 
Germany. Formerly the postage on a letter depended on 
the distance it traveled. In 1868 this was changed to a 
uniform cost of about two cents for every ordinary letter. 
The number of letters delivered increased from an average 
of three for each person in 1850 to more than seventy in 
1905. For many years Germany has had a cheap and 
excellent parcel post. 

Foreign Commerce. 1 — The foreign commerce of Ger- 
many is greater than that of the United States. Her im- 
ports, considerably greater than her exports, are raw cot- . 
ton and wool, rye and wheat, hides and skins, eggs and 
butter, petroleum, and precious metals. The chief exports 
are cloth and clothing, iron and steel goods, machinery and 
instruments, leather goods, sugar, chemical products, books, 
and maps. Germany receives more imports from Russia 
and the United States than from any other two countries, 
and sends more exports to Great Britain than to any 
other country. 

Germany's Continental Trade. — Germany has an ex- 
tensive trade with her European neighbors. Rich coun- 
tries, like Austria-Hungary and Russia, form a large part 
of her boundary line. For the most part, plains or low 
mountain passes give her easy railroad entrance into adja- 
cent countries. The rivers, too, form trade routes into 
other lands; for example, the Rhine into Holland, the 
Vistula into Russia, and the Danube into Austria-Hungary. 

1 The account of German commerce (pages 145-147, 151), as in general 
the account of all industry and commerce, represents conditions as they 
were before the Great War which began in 1914. The permanent effects 
of the war cannot yet be ascertained. 



146 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Russia sends her rye, wheat, lumber, eggs, oats, flax, live 
poultry, and furs; from Austria-Hungary she receives 
soft coal, lumber, cattle, and fruits. In return, Ger- 
many sends these countries hard coal, coke, paper, woolen 
and cotton cloth, iron manufactures, machinery, dyestuffs, 
leather, books, and musical instruments. 

Germany's Ocean Commerce. — Seventy per cent of 
Germany's foreign trade passes over the ocean; and 
German ships sail on all seas of the globe. A specialty 
is made of transatlantic business with the Americas and 
Africa, carried by two of the largest steamship companies 
in the world, the North German Lloyd with headquarters 
at Bremen, and the Hamburg- American Line centered at 
Hamburg. German imports and exports are carried also 
through the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Indian 
Ocean, and the Pacific to or from Asia and Australia. 

German Ships. — German steamships are constantly 
increasing in size and capacity. Large Rhine steamers 
carried 400 tons in 1840 ; 800 tons in 1880 ; and 2000 tons 
in 1900. One modern Lloyd ocean steamer has a greater 
tonnage than the entire merchant marine of Bremen in 
1825. Iron and steel ships are displacing wooden sailing 
vessels. Nevertheless Germany is* still building huge 
five-mast sailing ships. One of them carries a tonnage 
equal to twenty-five trains of thirty-one freight cars each. 

World-wide German Interests. — Germany is compelled 
to take the entire world as her commercial field because her 
large population is increasing nearly 1,000,000 a year. 
There is not land enough to farm, so the people must make 
a living by manufacturing and trading. The Germans 
search every quarter of the globe for opportunities in 
industry and commerce. They own vast areas in Brazil, 



MODERN GERMANY 147 

and thousands of miles of railway in Turkey and Asia 
Minor. They do great transportation and electrical busi- 
ness in South American cities. They own coffee planta- 
tions in Central America; mines and railways in China; 
tobacco plantations in Sumatra; cotton plantations in 
Egypt, and rubber plantations in the Congo. 

Business houses compete with one another in developing 
foreign commerce. One firm owns large mining interests, 
extensive plantations, and ranches in Morocco. Other 
firms conduct steel mills and iron mines in Scandinavia, 
Russia, and France. 

German banks furnish money with which foreign business 
is developed. One bank is building the Bagdad railway; 
another has charge of the railways in Venezuela. Even 
the Kaiser is interested in a trust that spares no efforts to 
gain industrial opportunities abroad. 

The Rapid Growth of Cities. — As a result of the mar- 
velous manufacturing and commercial activity, German 
cities have had an unusually rapid growth. The old city 
walls, which formerly protected many a town, have long 
been unable to hold the increasing numbers of people who 
have flocked from rural sections. Hundreds of cities have 
large districts, stretching beyond the original limits. The 
old buildings, streets, walls, and bridges contrast strangely 
with the modern sections of these cities. 

Berlin. — Berlin, the fifth largest city in the world, is 
one of the most important railroad centers of Europe and 
one of the chief money markets on the globe. It lies in 
the northern plain, midway between the coast and the 
southern highlands, near both the Elbe and the Oder. 
Rail, river, and canal connections have made it a* collector 
and a distributor of products for the surrounding country. 



148 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




MODERN GERMANY 



110 



Although Berlin is an Important manufacturing center, it 
is a beautiful city. Broad streets, stately palaces, rich shops, 
magnificent holds, luxurious houses, and wooded parks 
stamp it at oner as one oi the great capitals of the world. 
In Berlin are a number of museums, containing inter 

esting relies from all continents. Art galleries are filled 
with hundreds of paintings and Sculptures. A dozen opera 
houses and more theaters provide amusements. Many 

concert halls furnish excellent musical entertainments. 
The Thiergarten Park, one of the largest in Europe, is a 

happy recreation spot for thousands of people from early 

morning until evening. In it are countless trees, artificial 

fountains, and many statues and busts of noted rulers, 
scientists, musicians, artists, and poets. 

Every kind of school from the kindergarten through the 
University, trade and professional schools, schools for un- 




Thc Reichstag Building, Berlin. 



ISO 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




The Dresden Museum. 



fortunates, day schools, night schools, and Sunday schools 
offer courses of education to all. 

Dresden and Munich. — The wealthy state capitals 
Munich and Dresden are important interior trade centers 
and are noted especially for their art interests. They con- 
tain fine galleries, visited by thousands of tourists. Many 
foreigners study art and music in these cities. One of the 
most valuable collections of treasures in Europe is to be 
found in Dresden. It is worth millions of dollars and is 
composed of marvelously wrought bronzes, finely carved 
ivory, beautiful pictures, watches, goblets, statues, gold 
and silver plates, priceless emeralds, rubies, pearls, and 
diamonds; rings, swords, and other articles of decoration 
belonging to former kings. Dresden is also renowned for 
its beautiful china. 

Munich has one of the finest industrial museums in the 
world. It contains wonderful exhibits showing industrial 
processes and products. After one has spent several days 



MODERN GERMANY 



151 



in this museum he has a profound respect for the indus- 
trial accomplishments of man. 

Hamburg and Bremen. — Quite in contrast with Dresden 
is the city of Hamburg, the greatest continental port in 
Europe. In its busy harbor are hundreds of ships, arrived 
from many foreign ports. The city is on the Elbe, far 
enough inland to afford a fine shelter for vessels. Hamburg 




Docks at Hamburg. 

collects the larger part of the rich industrial products of 
Germany and sends them out to other European ports, to 
Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, and the United 
States. Ships bring in tea and silk from China, wool from 
Australia, rubber and ivory from Africa, coffee and rubber 
from Brazil; cotton, corn, wheat, meat, copper, iron, 
petroleum from the United States; and fruits from the 
Mediterranean countries. After the great steamers have 



152 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



come up to the wharves, the bales of cotton are lifted by 
pulleys, cranes, and derricks directly into the warehouses. 
Other products are transferred at once into boats and 
carried up the canals and rivers to interior sections, or 
they are loaded into freight cars. Bremen, the second 
port of Germany, handles the bulk of the emigrant traffic. 
It is also a large tobacco, cotton, and rice market. 

Leipzig, one of the chief manufacturing cities of Germany, 
can boast of being the greatest book center of the world. It 
has excellent printing schools where type-making, illustrat- 
ing, photography, and engraving are taught. It is also 
one of the world's chief markets for furs, pelts, and wool. 

Other Cities. — Dozens of other rich and thriving cities 
might be mentioned. There is Cologne on the Rhine, with 




The Cologne Cathedral. 



MODERN GERMANY 1 53 

its famous cathedral and noted perfumes; Nuremberg, 
with its toys; Mainz, the birthplace of Gutenberg, who 
invented printing; and ever so many cotton, woolen, iron, 
and steel centers. In all of them one sees the hurry and 
bustle of business. 

Conclusion. — " The Kaiser has during many years ex- 
erted upon his people a stimulating force which has raised 
to blood heat the political temperature of that people, the 
result being that human energies of all kinds are pressed 
into the service of the State to a degree which elsewhere 
is unknown." * This national efficiency, developed through 
strenuous labor coupled with untiring vocational and pa- 
triotic education, enabled Germany, almost single-handed, 
to wage war with three Great Powers for over three years, 
and finally to face at the sword's point the larger part of 
the world. Under an autocratic government, the blessing 
of great industrial power was perverted to serve the policy 
of political aggression. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Why is it that more people can be supported by manu- 
facturing than by agriculture ? 

2. What are the two greatest industrial resources of Ger- 
many? 

3. Why are there so few cities in northeastern Germany ? 
Why are the manufacturing cities so well distributed ? 

4. Make a list of the names of articles on which you find the 
trade-mark "Made in Germany." 

5. Find out all you can about German forest conservation. 

6. How does British commerce differ from that of Germany? 

7. Hamburg is the chief seaport of continental Europe, al- 
though it is not on the coast. How has its commercial suprem- 
acy been made possible ? 

1 J. Holland Rose, " Origins of the War." 



CHAPTER XI 

POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MODERN 
GERMANY 

Government of Germany. — Germany is a constitutional 
monarchy. While the nation consists of a number of 
states, each with its own state government, yet the national 
government is very strong and exercises large power over 
the whole country. Affairs of universal interest, such as 
postage and coinage, are in the charge of the national gov- 
ernment instead of the individual states, as formerly they 
were. Practically all of the railways and telegraphs are 
owned and managed by the government. The government 
is untiring in its efforts to develop the German nation. 
Laws are passed to promote education, manufacturing, 
commerce, and other interests of the people. 

The Ruler. — Emperor William II is the ruler of this 
monarchy. He inherited the throne from his father in 
1888. Kaiser Wilhelm, as he is known in Germany, is 
an intelligent man of great power and ambition. The 
Kaiser is also the king of Prussia, a state comprising more 
than half of the area and population of Germany. He 
appoints the chief officers of Prussia and of the empire; 
they are subject to his will and are not removable, as in 
other constitutional monarchies, by the lawmaking body 
that represents the people. All treaties are made by the 
Kaiser. 

The Law Makers. — Although the emperor holds his 
position for life, he is supposed to be somewhat controlled 
in his actions by the law makers. He cannot pass a new 

154 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 155 

law himself. New laws are proposed by the Bundesrath, 
a body of about sixty members appointed by the govern- 
ments of the states. They are then debated in the Reichs- 
tag, composed of about four hundred men chosen by the 
people voting directly, as our Representatives are; and 
they become law if passed by both bodies and approved 
by the Kaiser. In reality, these law makers have very 
humbly carried out the Kaiser's wishes, — although in 
late years the people of Germany are coming to take 
greater interest in politics and to ask for a greater share 
in managing the affairs of the nation. 

Care in Making Laws. — German laws are usually 
planned and framed with great care by learned men who 
are masters in the field of knowledge to which the law 
applies. German legislators seldom make a law without 
careful previous investigation into all matters pertaining to 
it. They are frequently assisted by university professors, 



A trading post in German East Africa. 



156 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

scientists, and men of large business experience. Public 
duties are executed with the same care; and officials take 
great pride in their positions of trust. Office holders are 
usually men of middle age who have broad experience. 
Many are of the land-owning nobility or of the capitalist 
class, and some serve without salary. 

German Suffrage. — The right to vote has been greatly 
extended. Formerly, serfs had no political privileges. 
The ballot could be used only by freemen. Little by little, 
one class of society after another acquired at least partial 
voting power, but the right of universal equal suffrage, 
such as American men enjoy, is still unknown. Needless 
to say, the women do not vote at all. 

Colonial Possessions. — When in 1884 Germany began 
to realize her overcrowded condition, she studied the map 
of the world for unclaimed land. But it was too late. The 
best places had already been taken by England and France. 
She, however, acquired colonial possessions in Africa — 
Togoland, Kamerun, German Southwest Africa, and Ger- 
man East Africa. These colonies lie mostly in the tropical 
regions, and are not very satisfactory. German colonists 
accustomed to the temperate zone do not fare well in torrid 
regions. Nevertheless, the government encouraged the 
development of these colonies as a source of supply for the 
mother country. The imports from them into Germany 
are rubber, palm oil, cotton, and cattle. The exports from 
the mother country to her African colonies are textiles, 
ironware, and tobacco. 

In 1898, Germany secured a ninety-nine years' lease of 
Kiauchau Bay on the east Chinese coast, with special com- 
mercial privileges in the adjoining province. This gave 
her a valuable trading post on the Asiatic coast of the 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 



J 57 



Pacific. She hoped in time to have it rival the English 
station, Hong Kong. In recent years Germany also ac- 
quired a number of islands in the Pacific. 

The German colonies were seized by the Allies in the 
Great War, and their destiny depends on the result of 
that war. 

The German Army. — Ever since the founding of the 




German soldiers. 



new empire (1871), Prussia has had dreams of further 
expansion. William II has used every possible means of 
extending the power of Germany on land and sea. His 
most effective tool for realizing this purpose has been the 
army. Neither money nor any consideration of individual 
welfare has deterred the Kaiser from building up the great 
weapon of militarism which has lately brought so much 
sorrow and suffering to the world. More than twenty 



158 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



nations were plunged into war because the Kaiser's fanati- 
cal patriotism blinded him to the demands of international 
rights and general human justice. 

The German army, the strongest in the world, numbering 
millions of men, are by compulsion totally submissive to 
the Kaiser. For years the German people have been 
taught that implicit obedience to authority for the glory 




Making cannons, Krupp works, Germany. 

of the State as the rulers see it, is the chief virtue of the 
masses. Several times the Emperor has addressed the 
army thus: " Your duty demands of you self-control and 
self-denial; also unlimited obedience and submission to 
the will of your superiors." ... "As I, Emperor and 
ruler, devote the whole of my actions and ambitions to the 
Fatherland, so you must devote your whole life to me." 
Germany makes a scientific business of being prepared 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 



159 



for war. Her standing army in time of peace, including 
infantry, artillery, special railway and train forces, is the 
strongest in the world, numbering over 600,000. She keeps 
her soldiers thoroughly trained and looks carefully after 
their health. In time of war, soldiers can be transported 
at short notice from any part of the country to the forti- 
fications by the railroads which are controlled by the 





A Zeppelin, a German war balloon. 

government. As soon as there is the least indication of 
trouble with any country, every officer receives sealed 
instructions as to just what he is to do in case of a declara- 
tion of war. All the railway agents receive similar enve- 
lopes with orders as to the number of trains that must be 
ready for the soldiers at specified stations. When war 
is declared, the envelopes are opened and the directions are 
promptly obeyed. Secret underground telegraphs connect 
Berlin and the various state capitals with the fortresses. 



i6o 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 





ggfffe 


■ait 


d% 






rf;^;y»;:;||&- : :; 


~ 


'V 


w 


-bmjmgJR 

















A Zeppelin in shed. 



Every able-bodied youth must serve one or two years 
in the regular standing army. In time of war the govern- 
ment can draft into service every normal man between 
the ages of seventeen and forty-five. Formerly there was 
considerable rebellion against this compulsory service, and 
many fine young men emigrated to America to avoid it. 
The German Navy. — In order to increase aggressively 
her trading interests, which she has in every continent, 

Germany built a 
well-equipped navy, 
similar to that of 
England. Within a 
few years she has 
worked vigorously, 
building three dread- 
naughts a year. 
Until recently she occupied the fourth place among the 
world's navies; but now her navy ranks second, having 
surpassed the United States and France since 1910. 

Home Life. — Probably there is no nation in which home 
life is dearer to the people than it is in Germany. The 
happiest hours are those which parents and children spend 
together. Germany was the first home of the Christmas 
tree, and the Christmas season is made much of, in giving 
joy to others. The members of the family remember one 
another with loving presents. While there are many 
toys, there are also useful presents. The children usually 
give their parents the presents which they call gifts of tal- 
ents. This is a pleasant custom of giving parents pleasure 
through the use of some new power which the child has 
gained during the year. Even the smallest member of 
the family can do something. The little girls play fairy 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 



161 



tale tableaus of Cinderella or Red Riding Hood; or they 
give mother a new ironholder which they sewed them- 
selves, or read an interesting story to father. One of the 
sons may play a new selection on the piano, another an air 
on the violin. Perhaps one of the daughters will recite a 
beautiful poem. These gifts of talent are more appreciated 
by the parents than presents bought with money. 

Recreations. — 
The many art gal- 
leries and museums 
afford profitable rec- 
reation on Sundays 
and holidays. The 
low priced but excel- 
lent plays, operas, 
and concerts contrib- 
ute to the general 
enjoyment. In win- 
ter the skating ponds 
are visited by young 
and old. In spring, 
summer , and autumn 
every one goes walk- 
ing and spends many 
half holidays with nature 
spent in city parks. 

For a long time Germany has been noted for her poetry 
and music. Many of her poems and songs have been 
translated into other languages, and appear in our readers 
and song books. Such names as Schubert, Beethoven, 
Wagner, Goethe, and Schiller are familiar to most of us. 
Few nations love singing as do the Germans. It is no un- 




A park in Berlin. 



Countless happy hours are 



162 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

common thing for men who happen to meet at an inn or 
a restaurant to while away the- evening by singing for an 
hour or more. Goethe, the German poet, once said that 
one should read a beautiful poem, sing a fine song, look 
at a good picture, or listen to sweet music every day. 
Many of his countrymen follow his advice. 

Material Welfare of the People. — The industrial prog- 
ress in Germany has brought improvement in the material 
conditions of the German people. To a large extent, men 
are allowed to choose the occupations they desire. There is 
more wealth, and the people enjoy greater physical comforts 
than before. Sanitary regulations have made cities, facto- 
ries, and houses more healthful; and labor laws carefully 
protect the life and the strength of the toilers. 

Accumulated Capital. — Industrial progress has given 
Germany great accumulated capital. In 1850 she had to 
borrow money to develop home industries. To-day, she has 
great sums invested in foreign securities and enterprises. 
Factories, farms, mines, warehouses, and schools under 
German control are scattered widely in many foreign 
lands. 

Wages. — The wages of German workers have increased 
more rapidly than the cost of living has risen. As a result 
there has been greater comfort and less emigration. All 
classes in Germany, including the lowliest laborers, enjoy 
daily comforts which years ago were not even dreamed 
of as luxuries. The homes are more comfortable. Sub- 
stantial brick or stone houses, well lighted and heated, are 
taking the place of poorly ventilated wooden structures 
of by-gone days. The wages among the working classes 
are rather low and rather evenly distributed; hence, even 
the most prosperous among them are not as well-to-do as 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 



163 



the same class of people are in England or America. Ger- 
many might be called the land of average well-being among 
workmen; for, generally speaking, both the very poor and 
the very well paid are missing. 

Working Hours and Workingmen's Insurance. — The 
German laborers work ten hours a day, while those of the 




German workingmen's cottages. 

United States work only eight; but the former work more 
slowly, have a longer noon intermission, besides a short 
rest in the middle of each half day. Machinery is not 
run at such high pressure or so continuously as with us. 
The work is less tense and more steady. Insurance laws 
protect the working classes in sickness, accidents, and 
old age. Every wage earner must carry an insurance as 
soon as he begins to earn a living.- He pays a part of 



164 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

the premiums, the government gives some aid, and the 
employers are compelled to meet part of the insurance 
expenses. 

Factory Conditions. — Every employer must run his 
factory strictly according to the law, which requires clean- 
liness and sanitary conditions, good light, and pure air. 
Oftentimes shower baths are provided, or at least basins 
where the face and hands may be washed before the work- 
man leaves for home. Where very dirty work is required, 
opportunity is given to change the clothing mornings. and 
evenings. Every factory must post the rules of the house 
in a conspicuous place where the factory inspector who 
comes around at regular intervals can see them. This 
schedule includes among other things the hours of labor, 
the mealtimes, time and manner of paying wages, punish- 
ments, and fines. The inspector sees that these rules are 
according to the law and that they are properly obeyed. 

The Labor of Women and Children. — The health of a 
nation depends so much upon the women and children that 
special provisions are made for them, although the women 
have to do much more work than in our country. No 
woman is allowed to work in a factory at night. Children 
under thirteen cannot be employed at all; and after that, 
only for a limited number of hours, ranging from six to 
ten per day, according to the age. 

Public Provisions for General Welfare. — The state 
and city authorities give the greatest attention to good 
water supply, the proper disposal of garbage and sewage, 
the cleaning and lighting of streets, and the checking of 
disease. Many provisions are made for the comfort of 
the helpless and defectives. Public parks and museums 
are agencies for promoting the health and happiness of the 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 165 

people. The crowding of many families into the tenement 
houses of the factory towns is detrimental to public welfare. 
To overcome this difficulty, various government authorities 
have, within recent years, helped to build good sanitary 
houses for workingmen. These are sold at reasonable 
prices, on long-time payments, and at low interest rates. 
Provisions are also made to loan money on very easy terms 
to capable young farmers that they may get proper tools, 
animals, and fertilizers. Such things help to produce a 
happier and better race of people; but the question arises 
as to whether the Kaiser is not merely using these means 
to produce a stronger fighting force in order to realize his 
ambition. 

Education. — For over a hundred years this nation has 
given much attention to educating her people. After a 
serious defeat of Prussia by the French in 1806, King Fred- 
erick Wilhelm said: " The state must regain by intellectual 
power what she has lost in material power, and to this end 
I desire that everything may be done to extend and perfect 
the education of the people." Great statesmen, philoso- 
phers, and educators labored unceasingly during the dark 
hours of Germany's history to impress the people with the 
fact that their future success could be assured only through 
a thorough training of the youth of all classes. After the 
victory of 187 1, the nation again put its best energies into 
educating the young people in the practical arts. Besides 
the common and high schools, and the universities, schools 
were established for the teaching of almost every trade. 
The boys and girls who leave school at fourteen years of 
age must attend a continuation school several hours a week, 
usually after working hours; that is, after supper or on 
Sunday morning, to learn more about German composi- 



i66 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



tion, reading, arithmetic, and mechanical drawing. They 
also study physics, chemistry, simple mechanics, civics, 
hygiene, and a little about the laws relating to the various 
industries. 




Buildings of the University of Berlin. 



In commercial schools they learn business correspond- 
ence, how to write checks, postal money orders, receipts, 
bills of lading, and telegrams. Bookkeeping and commer- 
cial geography are also studied. Some- of the special trade 
schools are those for printers, metal and leather workers, 
builders, tailors, farmers, and dentists. Cooking, stenog- 
raphy, bookkeeping, sewing, and millinery are taught in 
girls' schools. Besides the textile or cloth-weaving schools 
there are those that teach knitting, engineering, mining, 
navigation, and shipbuilding. Advanced high schools 
educate the managers of factories and steamship com- 
panies, the heads of museums, wholesale merchants, and 
representatives to foreign countries; in short, all captains 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 167 

of industry. The highest type of school trains the ablest 
men to discover new chemical products, or improved 
methods in industry. 

Commercial Geography. — The study of commercial 
geography receives much attention. The Germans learn 
much about the products of other nations and their 
needs. They investigate the possibilities of opening up 
trade relations with foreigners, and are quick to seize the 
opportunity of increasing their own business. Museums 
of the products and other material wealth of foreign coun- 
tries are scattered all over Germany. Other museums 
contain exhibits of workmanship in metals, wood, clay, 
cloth, and glass. These are really schools of instruction for 
all classes of artists and artisans. 

Study of Foreign Languages. — German students learn 
three or four languages. Traveling salesmen make a point 
of offering their goods to foreigners in the native tongue 
of the customers. This pleases buyers and increases sales. 
Another advantage of a knowledge of foreign languages is 
that it enables Germans to read the trade papers of their 
rivals. 

The World War. — In June, 1914, a Serbian subject of 
Austria murdered Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the 
Austrian throne. For this Austria made several demands 
upon Serbia which no self-respecting nation could grant. 
Austria then declared war upon Serbia. Russia joined 
Serbia in her defense against Austria. Germany presum- 
ably felt herself honor bound to help her ally, Austria. 
As the war has progressed, however, it has become quite 
evident that the German Kaiser considered it an opportune 
time for pushing his ambitions and that a possible point of 
honor was used as a pretext for plunging the nations into 



1 68 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

war. No doubt it was under his instructions that Austria 
took the fatal step. 

The German armies, in defiance of international law and 
neutral rights, marched through Belgium to invade France, 
the ally of Russia. This violation of neutrality was nat- 
urally resented, but Belgium in her weakness was practi- 
cally crushed by the invading armies. England, virtually 
an ally of France, and protector of helpless neutrals, then 
entered the war, because she was vitally interested in the 
independence of Belgium and France. In time, Turkey 
and Bulgaria threw in their lot with the Central Powers, 
Germany and Austria; while Japan and Italy joined Eng- 
land, France, and Russia, known as the Allies. 

As the war progressed, Germany, determined at all 
hazards to gain control of the ocean, carried on war in such 
ruthless manner that not only her avowed enemies suffered, 
but all neutral rights, wherever they stood in the Kaiser's 
way, were outraged. Thus, through her submarine at- 
tacks on American ships and shameless wrongs committed 
by authorized German spies upon the life and welfare of 
the American people, the United States was forced, on 
April 6, 191 7, to declare that a state of war existed between 
Germany and our country. Several other countries also 
took up the cudgels against Germany, or at least broke off 
friendly relations with her. 

Thus has one of the mpst promising lands on earth, 
because of an insatiable desire to dominate the world, 
made of that world her bitter enemies. Before June, 19 14, 
Germany had an unusually bright future ahead of her; 
now the outlook for her is gloomy indeed. Her foreign 
commerce is ruined, and the tremendous expenses of the 
war have brought her to the verge of bankruptcy; worse 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 169 

than all, her disregard of treaties and of international law- 
have left a terrible legacy of suspicion and distrust. 

Professor J. Holland Rose, of the University of Cam- 
bridge, England, in " Origins of the War/' offers one ex- 
tenuating cause for Germany's resorting to this war. He 
says, " When the war is over, it is to be hoped that Ger- 
many will discover that international law, on which she has 
insanely trampled, may prove to be her safest support. 
For when the din of war dies down, we shall read that 
behind the lust of conquest there was an elemental force 
impelling the German people forward. Their population 
is ever increasing; and they must have more elbow-room 
in some of the sparsely inhabited lands. On this occasion 
they have sought the disastrously wrong method of war. 

" Today there is a Supreme Court of Appeal for Nations, 
the Hague Tribunal. The wiser and better course for 
Germany would have been to seek to enlarge its powers 
so as to include the consideration of her important vital 
problem, and the adoption of some scheme which promised 
a peaceful solution. 

" In the course of reaction in favor of international law, 
the Hague Tribunal will surely acquire an added dignity, 
a wider scope, and surer guaranties in the discharge of its 
beneficent functions. . . . 

" The enlarged and strengthened Areopagus of the na- 
tions must and will discuss such questions as the exces- 
sive pressure of population in one state, and it will seek to 
direct the surplus to waste or ill-cultivated lands. In that 
more intelligent and peaceful future Germans will not need 
to c hack their way through.' " 

Conclusion. — Germany attained its industrial preemi- 
nence through the most strenuous efforts of labor on the 



170 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

part of every one from the Kaiser down to the humblest 
citizen, and through untiring scientific research on the 
part of her learned men. The Kaiser's ambition devel- 
oped in his people a storm of unparalleled patriotic fervor, 
and plunged the nation into a World War, which will seri- 
ously handicap her for years. 

The enmity which the Kaiser has brought down upon 
Germany, and the check to her commercial development, 
have blighted many German industries. No one can 
tell how long a period will be required for reestablishing 
the commercial achievements that were gained during 
the first fifty years of the new empire, and were lost by the 
folly of 1914. The World War clearly demonstrates the 
dependence of industrial prosperity upon international 
righteousness and clear spiritual vision. 



Questions and Exercises 

1. Discuss the causes and the effects of the Great War that 
began in 19 14. 

2. The Germans think that a ten-hour working day, with 
three intermissions and especially a long noon rest, is better 
for promoting health than an eight-hour -day, with only one 
short midday recess. What do you think about it? 

3. What does the home life have to do with the greatness 
of a nation? 

4. In what way is the love of outdoor life among a people 
a national advantage ? 

5. Germany has regularly withdrawn several hundred thou- 
sand young men annually from the industrial ranks in order to 
have a large standing army. Discuss the advantages and dis- 
advantages of such an arrangement to the nation and to the 
individuals. 



POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS 1 71 

6. In what ways is the government of Germany like that of 
the United States ? In what important ways is it different ? 

7. What to your mind is the greatest cause of Germany's 
remarkable progress in the last fifty years ? 

8. What have the wages of workingmen to do with the 
conservation of human life ? 

9. Why have Germans not settled extensively in the colonial 
possessions of Germany? 

10. How does Germany prepare her young men for a com- 
mercial career? 



The United States 
is the industrial peer of 
the German and British Empires : 
What causes have contributed to her 
rapid development, and along 
what lines has this advance- 
ment been made? 



172 



THE YOUNG INDUSTRIAL GIANT 
OF THE WEST 



OUR OWN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Within four centuries the United States has been changed 
from an unknown wilderness into one of the three leading 
powers, holding an honorable place by the side of much 
older nations. After the discovery of America more than a 
century elapsed before a permanent English settlement 
was made. More than another hundred years passed be- 
fore the last of the original thirteen colonies was estab- 
lished. Not until 1776 did the United States become 
independent. Hence our wonderful development has been 
achieved in less than one hundred fifty years of national 
existence, 

We have accomplished much in a short time. But we 
must not forget that we owe no little part of this rapid devel- 
opment to our inheritance from older nations. The expe- 
rience of their European ancestors served to guide our 
forefathers in the formation and establishment of our 
government. Our schools and churches are offshoots of 
tried systems. The inventions of the Old World were early 
applied to American industries. Our language, the most 
powerful factor in welding our national unity, came from 
beyond the Atlantic. Ours has been the combined heri- 
tage of all the civilizations that have preceded us. 

173 



CHAPTER XII 
NATURAL ASSETS OF THE UNITED STATES 

Favorable geographic conditions have had much to do 
with the growth and prosperity of the United States. Some 
of the chief geographic factors are advantageous location, 
fertile soil, rich mineral supply, favorable climate, excellent 
waterways, and extensive forests. 

Position and Size. — An important factor in the progress 
of the United States is its position directly opposite the 
most highly developed continent, separated from it by only 
3000 miles of the Atlantic. Our country is much nearer 
to Europe than to any other continent of the Old World. 
When the United States became independent in 1776 it 
extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River 
and from Canada to Florida. Strip after strip was added 
to it until to-day it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
and covers more than 3,000,000 square miles. It is larger 
than Australia and little smaller than Europe. It is so 
broad from north to south that the fastest trains require 
about thirty-six hours to cover the distance. It is so long 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific that the speediest trains 
cannot cross it in less than eighty- four hours. 

Coastline. — North America ranks next to Europe in 
irregularity of coast, and the United States has over 3000 
miles of coastline. There are many excellent harbors. 
Most of them border on the Atlantic, which is the greatest 
highway of trade. Others are on the Pacific, which may 
some day rival the Atlantic in commerce. Fortunately all 
our seaports are ice-free the year round. 

176 



NATURAL ASSETS OF THE UNITED STATES 



l 77 



Surface. — From east to west, the United States is 
divided into four great natural regions. Along the Atlantic 
is a belt of lowland called the Atlantic Coast Plain. Farther 
west is the Appalachian Highland, and in the central part 
of the country is the Central Plain. The western third of 
the United States is the Cordilleran Highland. 




Farm land in the Atlantic Coast Plain. 

Atlantic Coast Plain. — The Atlantic Coast Plain begins 
at Cape Cod and extends to Florida. At the northern 
end it is only a few miles wide, but it widens southward 
so that in Georgia it is about 300 miles wide. The coast 
plain bordering the Gulf of Mexico is called the Gulf 
Coast Plain. 

Appalachian Highland. — The Appalachian Highland 
extends from Newfoundland and the St. Lawrence River 
to northern Alabama and Georgia. The New England 
Plateau is part of this highland region. Just west of the 
Atlantic Coast Plain is a plateau belt called the Piedmont 
Plateau. This is the southeastern part of the Appalachian 
Highland. At the eastern edge of the Piedmont belt the 
surface slopes steeply down to the Atlantic Coast Plain, 
and because of the falls and rapids in the streams this 



178 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

steep slope is called the Fall Line. West of the Piedmont 
Plateau is the belt of Appalachian ridges and inter- 
vening valleys. The western slope of the Appalachian 
Highland is called the Appalachian Plateau, which is 
divided into a northern portion, called the Allegheny 
Plateau, and a southern part, called the Cumberland 
Plateau. 

Central Plain. — The broad lowland between the Appa- 
lachian and Cordilleran highlands is the Central Plain. 
This extensive region includes the Glacial Drift Plain in the 
northern part, the Gulf Coast Plain in the southern part, 
and the Great Plains, or High Plains, in the western part. 
The greatest river system and the largest lakes in the 
world are found in the Central Plain. 

Cordilleran Highland. — The Cordilleran Highland is 
divided into three main divisions. The eastern part is 
the Rocky Mountains ; the western part is the Pacific 
Ranges, which include the Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, 
and Cascade Mountains; the middle part, lying between 
the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ranges, is a wide 
belt of high plateaus. Beginning at the north, these are 
the Columbia Plateau, the Great Basin, which is really a 
high plateau, and the Colorado Plateau. The Coast 
Ranges lie so near the Pacific Ocean that there is scarcely a 
plain along the coast. Between the Sierra Nevada and 
Cascade Mountains on the east and the Coast Ranges on 
the west is a narrow belt of lowland that is almost con- 
tinuous from Mexico to Canada. The southern part, 
called the Great Valley of California, is made up of the 
valleys of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. The 
northern part of this lowland is the Willamette valley and 
the basin of Puget Sound. 



NATURAL ASSETS OF THE UNITED STATES 1 79 




A view of Pikes Peak, Colorado. 



i8o 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Climate. — The United States lies in the warm part of 
the temperate zone. In the southern part of the country, 
the summers are long and hot/ and the winters are short, 
with only a very few days of freezing weather. In the 
northern part of the United States, the winters are long 
and very cold. The east and west coasts have a milder 
climate than the central part of the country, where the 
winters are quite cold and the summers hot. 

The eastern half of the United States has ample rain, 
which comes from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic 




Ocean. The greater portion of the western half does not 
have sufficient rain, and is either arid or semiarid. Narrow 
belts on the western slopes of the Pacific Ranges have 
abundant rainfall ; and the region of greatest rainfall in 
the United States is the western slope of the Coast Ranges 
in Washington and Oregon. As the moist air of the pre- 
vailing winds from the Pacific strike the mountain ranges 



NATURAL ASSETS OF THE UNITED STATES 181 

much of the moisture falls as rain or snow. The eastern 
slopes of these mountains and the plateau belt to the east 
are quite dry. Although the Rocky Mountains are far 
from the Pacific, yet considerable moisture falls upon their 
windward slopes, thus forming another rainfall belt. The 
eastern slopes of the Rockies and the High Plains are semi- 
arid, for they are cut off from the moisture coming from the 
Pacific, and they are too far from the sources of the rain 
that falls in eastern United States to profit therefrom. 

Natural Resources. — The soil is by far our greatest 
natural resource. The large areas of fertile land with 
enough warmth and rain for crops make the United States 
one of the most productive nations. The Atlantic Coast 
Plain, the Gulf Coast Plain, and the Glacial Drift Plain 
are the most extensive agricultural sections of the country. 
Not only the deep soil, but the climate and level surface 
give them their agricultural prominence. 

The mountainous regions of the United States are the 
chief mining districts. In the Appalachians are great 
deposits of coal, iron, and building stone. The richest 
mines of iron, however, are in the hilly district south and 
west of Lake Superior ; and there are extensive deposits 
of coal in the Central Plain. In the Cordilleran Highland 
are rich mines of gold, silver, and copper. 

Great forest areas exist in the Appalachian Mountains, 
Rocky Mountains, and Pacific Ranges. Our most valu- 
able forests are on the rainy slopes of the Coast Ranges, 
the Cascade Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada. These 
slopes have also the largest amount of water power for 
manufacturing purposes. Another valuable forest region 
is in the Gulf Coast Plain. The coniferous forests near 
Lake Superior still furnish large quantities of lumber. 



152 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Conclusion. — No country *is blessed with greater natural 
wealth than the United States. The extensive plains, with 
favorable soil and climate ; the great mineral wealth, 
especially the abundance of coal and iron ; the deep water- 
ways and swift streams that furnish power; and the valu- 
able forests of mountains and plains all form the physical 
basis for the great wealth and industrial progress of the 
United States. 

Questions and Exercises 

i. Sketch an outline map of the United States, showing the 
irregular coasts. Name at least a dozen indentations. Indi- 
cate the four great natural regions. On your sketch name all 
the parts of each that are mentioned in this chapter. In which 
region do you live ? 

2. Why have the coasts milder climate than the interior? 

3. What is the annual rainfall in your part of the country? 

4. Make a careful study of a daily weather map of the United 
States. 

5. What are the chief natural resources of your state ? 

6. On your own map indicate the sections where the prin- 
cipal natural resources of the country are found. 



CHAPTER XIII 
FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 

General Agricultural Conditions. — Because of the natural 
advantages of soil, surface, and climate, together with the 
good management of farms, agriculture is a source of more 
wealth to the United States than any other industry. The 
extensive areas of fertile land with ample heat and rainfall 
make possible large acreage of crops and high yields per 
acre. Improved machinery is greatly reducing human 
labor on the farm and better methods of farming are pro- 
ducing larger crops and at the same time keeping up the fer- 
tility of the soil. We raise a great variety of crops, yet the 
three leading ones, corn, cotton, and wheat, are worth about 
one half of the total value of all crops. In the production 
of these three, the United States leads all other countries. 

Field Crops. — The crops that are generally raised in 
fields, as distinct from orchards, gardens, and forests, are 
called field crops. These crops far exceed all the others 
in acreage and value. The most important field crops are 
corn, cotton, hay and other forage, wheat, oats, tobacco, 
barley, flax, sugar cane, rye, sugar beets, and rice. 

Corn. — To-day corn easily leads as our largest and 
most valuable crop. No country rivals the United States 
in its production. It produces four fifths of the world's 
supply. The belt of highest corn yield is in the Central 
States, including Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, 
Oklahoma, Texas, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. At 
the present time the average yield per acre is nearly thirty 

183 



1 84 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



bushels. Great attention is being given to soils, seed selec- 
tion, and methods of cultivation in order to increase this 
yield. It is possible to double the average production per 
acre with but little extra work and expense. 




Distribution of corn in the United States. 

bushels. 



One dot equals 100,000 



Rainfall and temperature have much to do with the 
yield of corn. It is planted in the spring just as soon as 
danger of frost is over, and it usually matures before a 
killing frost of autumn. Sometimes, however, an early 
frost damages the corn. The most common cause of a low 
yield is a scarcity of rain during the months of June, July, 
and August. The growing crop is cultivated several times 
to loosen the ground, kill the weeds, and to make a mulch 
of fine soil that prevents the rapid evaporation of soil 
moisture. Much of the corn is harvested by cutting the 
stalks, either by hand or by a corn harvester, and placing 
them in shocks in the field until the grain is dry and hard. 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



185 



Then the shocks are hauled to the barn yard, where a corn 
shredder husks the ears of corn and cuts the stalks and 
leaves into small lengths for fodder. Much of the corn, 
however, is husked from the standing stalks, whose leaves 
and husks furnish winter pasture for cattle and horses. 

Corn is used as food by man and animals. In the United 
States the greater part is fed to horses, cattle, hogs, and 
poultry on the farms where this grain is grown. 

Corn meal, breakfast foods, hominy, canned corn, corn- 
starch, and glucose are important foods made from the 
grain. Corn oil, made from the germs of the grains, is 
used for lubricants, and in the manufacture of soap. The 
cobs are used mainly for fuel. In addition to these, a 





Husking corn. 



i86 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



number of other products are obtained from the corn 
plant. 

Wheat. — Next to corn, wheat is our most valuable 
food crop. Because of the large area of wheat lands the 
United States ranks as the greatest producer of this cereal. 
The slightly rolling land and the fertile soil of the North 
Central section, as well as the rich valleys of California 
and the Columbia River region, are well adapted to its 
production. The leading wheat states are : North Dakota, 
Kansas, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, 
Washington, Indiana, Missouri, and Ohio. Wheat requires 
dry sunny days during its ripening period, and therefore 
it does not grow well in regions of moist summers. It 
thrives in a cooler climate than corn does, hence its north- 
ern limit reaches far beyond the corn belt. 

The enormous acreage and yield of wheat has been made 
possible by the improvement of farm machinery. The 




Wheat-growing areas and chief flour-milling centers of the United States. 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



187 




Harvesting wheat. 



harvester, which cuts and binds the wheat, and the thresher, 
which separates the grain from the chaff and straw, are the 
most important machines. In regions where farms are 
measured by thousands of acres the ground is plowed by 
large plows drawn by traction engines. The old-time 
farmer stored his few bushels of wheat in his bins, 
and had it ground into flour at the little neighborhood 
mill, as he needed it for family use. The modern farmer 
raises for commercial purposes far more than he can 
conveniently house. After the harvests vast quantities 
of grain are transported to immense elevators to wait 
for shipment. Instead of sacking wheat, as formerly, it 
is stored and shipped in bulk. This saves time, labor, and 
expense. 

A large amount of wheat finds its way to the mills of 
Minneapolis, Chicago, and St. Louis, where it is ground into 
flour and shipped to many domestic and foreign markets. 
Thousands of bushels of American wheat take a voyage 
down the Great Lakes through the Erie Canal and Hudson 



1 88 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

River, across the Atlantic into Europe. Since wheat 
bread is the staff of life among nearly all the white 
race in Europe, Africa, Australia, and America, we are 
fortunate in being able to produce so much of the world's 
supply. 

Wheat has other products besides flour. Some of the 
grain is turned into starch, macaroni, and breakfast foods. 
The straw is used for rough feed, stable bedding, manu- 
factured into paper, or braided into hats, mattings, and 
baskets. 

The average yield of wheat per acre in the United States 
is only about sixteen bushels, while Germany and Great 
Britain have about twice this yield. The cause of this 
great difference is that the American has given more atten- 
tion to large acreage of wheat rather than to high yield 
per acre. These European countries with limited area 
cultivate the crop with the greatest skill and are careful 
to maintain the fertility of the soil. We are just beginning 
to realize the need of intensive cultivation. 

Oats, Barley, and Rye. — Of the grain crops, oats rank 
next to wheat in value. Corn lands are well adapted to 
oats, and the two leading corn states lead also in the pro- 
duction of oats. The leading wheat states also rank high 
in yield of oats. Although oatmeal is a good breakfast 
food, most of the oats is fed to stock. Barley and rye 
are far less important than wheat and oats. The North 
Central and Pacific states lead in the production of barley, 
Minnesota and California being the two leading states. 
In the West, barley largely takes the place of corn for feed- 
ing stock. With the exception of rice, rye is our smallest 
grain" crop. The chief rye states are Wisconsin, Pennsyl- 
vania, Michigan, and Minnesota. 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



189 



Rice. — Rice grows in the low river valleys and coastal 
plains of the Southern States, where the land can be easily 
flooded. Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and South Carolina 
lead in its production. 

Hay and Forage. — The combined value of the hay and 
forage crops is surpassed only by that of corn and cotton. 
In the New England, Middle. Atlantic, and Rocky Moun- 
tain states, hay and forage are the leading crops. This 
is due mainly to the 
fact that grass and 
other forage plants 
grow well on hilly 
and mountainous 
lands where grain 
crops cannot be 
successfully raised. 

The Central 
States, however, are 
the greatest pro- 
ducers of hay and 
forage, although in 
this section these 
crops are not so im- 
portant as the grains. 

Timothy is the most valuable hay for feeding horses 
and brings the highest price in the market. The acreage 
of timothy exceeds that of any other hay plants, although 
the acreage of timothy and clover mixed is greater than 
that of pure timothy. Clover is grown not only for hay 
and pasture, but also to enrich the ground. 

Alfalfa promises to become one of the most profitable 
forage plants. At present, nearly all of the alfalfa is grown 




Hoeing rice, South Carolina. 



190 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Mowing a field of alfalfa. 



in the states west of the Mississippi. It thrives best where 
there is abundant sunshine and good soil, and is one of the 
leading crops in the irrigation districts of the West. It 
grows readily on high mountain slopes as well as in low 
valleys. Its long roots enable it to thrive even in dry 
regions. Montana produces three harvests of alfalfa a 
year, while California grows five per year. Alfalfa is of 
special value to Western stockmen because of its great feed- 
ing value to cattle and sheep. The stacks of this hay 
furnish an abundance of food through the winter, and also 
during summer droughts. Alfalfa, like clover, increases 
the fertility of the soil. This enrichment of the soil in 
which they grow, makes these two hay crops doubly valu- 
able to the farmers. 

Cotton. — Fibers that are used in manufacturing cloth 
are obtained from hemp, sisal, jute, flax, cotton, and other 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



I 9 I 



plants. But the cotton surpasses all others in desirable 
qualities ; and it is becoming more and more important. 
Because it can be so easily cleansed cotton cloth is taking 
the place of wool, even in winter. Savage tribes of remote 
and little-known warm parts of the earth , who were form- 
erly almost unclad, are gradually adopting cotton dress. 
Cotton cloth is one of the most important manufactured 
products of the world. 

Production and Export of American Cotton. — While 
cotton grows in most tropical and subtropical countries, 
two thirds of the world's crop is harvested in our own 
Southern States, where the summers are warm and long, 
and the climate is moderately moist. The annual cotton 
production of these states is worth more than the world's 
combined gold and silver output. The leading cotton 
states are Texas, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and 
Arkansas. Not only the most cotton but the best quality 




Cotton- growing region and chief centers of cotton manufacture. 



192 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

is produced in the United States. This is the sea-island 
cotton of South Carolina and Georgia, whose long, satin- 
like fibers make the fine threads, laces, and fabrics. 




Cotton bolls. 

Cotton is planted in March or April. By the middle 
of June the field is covered with green plants containing 
many beautiful flowers. The cotton ripens and the pick- 
ing begins in July. The work continues until Christmas. 
The seeds are removed by gins, and the fiber is pressed into 
500-pound bales, which are shipped to factories in the 
North and South and to foreign countries. Beginning with 
August and continuing to January, cotton is constantly 
being loaded on cars and sent to distributing centers, where 
it starts on long rail and water journeys. More than one 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



193 



third of the crop remains in the United States. A third 
goes to Great Britain, and the rest to Germany and other 
North Sea countries. Northwest Europe, where no cotton 
is raised at all, is the great receiving market for American 
cotton ; but India, Egypt, and Brazil also help to supply 
the busy European mills with raw cotton. 

The large cotton-collecting stations of the west half of 
the cotton belt are Memphis, Montgomery, Shreveport, 
Vicksburg, Houston, and New Orleans. Galveston, with 
its fine harbor, and surrounded by the immense plantations 
of Texas, is the leading cotton port. Charleston, Savannah, 
Mobile, and Pensacola are important eastern points of 
export. Our total crop averages about 12,000,000 bales 
of 500 pounds each. 




Bales of cotton. 



194 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

The Enemies of Cotton. — The cotton plant has a num- 
ber of enemies that cause an annual loss of millions of 
dollars. Due largely to pests and fungous diseases, the 
average yield per acre has been slightly reduced in recent 
years. The most important pest is the boll weevil. This 
weevil came into Texas from Mexico several years ago. 
It spread inland at the rate of about fifty miles per year, 
and has now reached Oklahoma and Alabama. This 
insect passes through four stages, — egg, worm, pupa, and 
adult weevil. The adult female, less than an inch long, 
lays during a season from three hundred to three thousand 
eggs on the foliage and in the bolls. The worms which 
hatch from the eggs eat the leaves and bolls, and the cotton 
within the infected bolls is destroyed. Pulling up the 
cotton plant in the fall and burning the roots and stalks is 
the most effective means of killing the weevils. A fungous 
disease, called cotton wilt, does considerable damage. 
The fungus enters the roots and causes a wilting and final 
death of the plants. No satisfactory method of preventing 
this disease has yet been discovered. 

Harvesting Cotton. — The cotton bolls do not all ripen 
at the same time and the harvesting of cotton extends 
from July to December. This is the most expensive part 
of cotton raising, since the laborers must go over a field 
several times during the ripening period. Machines for 
picking cotton have been tried, but they have not proved 
very successful, hence the crop is practically all picked by 
hand. 

After the cotton is picked it is hauled to ginning mills, 
where the fiber and seeds are separated. The fiber is 
then baled for shipment. Before the invention of the cotton 
gin by Eli Whitney the separation of fiber and seed was 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



195 



such a slow process that only a very little cotton could be 
raised, as it took one man an entire day to seed one pound 
of cotton fiber. The cotton gin revolutionized the cotton 
industry and made it possible for the Southern States to 
help clothe men, women, and children in every quarter of 
the globe. 




Weighing the day's picking. 

Cotton Products. — When the cotton reaches the mill 
it is first cleaned from dirt and leaves. Then it is combed 
and twisted into threads and yarns. The yarns are woven 
into cotton cloth. Mixed goods are made by weaving cot- 
ton yarns with threads of wool or silk. The shortest bits 
of cotton are manufactured into wadding, cotton bat- 
ting used in comforters, and absorbent cotton used 
for medicinal purposes. Cotton treated with acids is 
used to make substitutes for silk, also celluloid and certain 



196 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

explosives. From the seed we get cottonseed oil and oil 
cake. The seeds are hulled, the kernels are ground, and 
the oil is pressed out by heavy machinery. The oil is 
used in the manufacture of soaps and candles, for lubri- 
cating purposes, and as a substitute for olive oil. The 
hulls are used as paper stock, cattle food, fuel, and fer- 
tilizer. 

Cotton Rivals of the United States. — Next to the 
United States, India and Egypt are the largest producers 
of cotton. England is doing much to encourage the grow- 
ing of cotton in these two countries and in other parts of 
the British Empire. Brazil and Peru raise large quantities 
of the long staple cotton. Good fiber is raised in central 
Asia and sent to Russian mills. China raises cotton and 
uses all of it in her own cotton mills. In other warm regions 
of the earth also, the problem of cotton raising is being 
worked out. 

Flax. — Flax was introduced into this country by the 
early settlers of New England, who used the fiber for making 
clothing. About 1800, when cotton came into general 
use, flax began to be cultivated for the seed also. From 
the flaxseed is obtained the linseed oil which is used in 
making paints and varnishes. To-day in the United 
States flax is raised almost entirely for the seed. Argen- 
tina and the United States are the leading countries in the 
production of flaxseed. In Europe flax is raised mainly 
for the fiber, which is woven into linen. North Dakota, 
South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota grow nearly 
all the flaxseed produced in our country. Man has not 
succeeded in producing good seed and good fiber in the 
same plant. Flax for fiber must be harvested before the 
seed is ripe, which, of course, makes the seed of poor quality. 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



197 



If the seed is permitted to mature, the fiber is too coarse 
for the weaving of good linen, and can be used only in the 
manufacture of binding twine, insulating material for 
refrigerator cars, and very heavy paper such as is used in 
cement bags. 




A field of flax. 



Sugar. — A few generations ago sugar was a luxury. 
To-day it is considered a necessity in all civilized countries. 
At present the world's crop amounts to about 16,000,000 
tons, two thirds of which is produced and consumed in 



198 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Europe and North America. The people of Great Britain 
and the United States are the greatest consumers of sugar. 
The former use each year 86 pounds per capita and the 
latter 82 pounds. In spite of the fact that we produce a 
large amount, our greatest import is sugar. 

Sugar Cane. — Sugar cane grows in the Southern States. 
More than two thirds of this crop is grown in Louisiana, 
in the delta of the Mississippi. Some of the Louisiana 
sugar plantations contain several thousand acres each. 
The cane, which resembles corn, grows as high as fifteen 
feet, in rows six or seven feet apart. It grows from buds 
at the joints of the stalks, which are laid end to end in 
furrows, three rows being placed side by side. This must 
be done by hand ; then soil is thrown over the cane by a 
plow. One planting lasts two or three years. In October 



1 if 




Sugar cane in Louisiana. 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 1 99 

the laborers cut the cane stalks by hand, as near the ground 
as possible. 

The leaves contain very little sugar, so they are stripped 
off. The stalks are carried on cars to the factories. There 
huge rollers crush them and squeeze out the juice. In 
the sugar mill this juice is boiled and crystallized into raw 
sugar. Then it is shipped to the refineries, usually found 
in distant states. The crude sugar is boiled and filtered, 
and finally placed in barrels as pure sugar. The machinery v 
required for these final processes is so expensive that there 
are very few refineries in the United States, although our 
country ranks first in this business. We import raw sugar 
from the East and West Indies, Hawaii, South America, 
and Europe ; and turn it into snow-white granulated, loaf, 
or powdered sugar. 

Beet Sugar. — About half of the world's sugar is made 
from the sugar beet. In its fleshy root is stored the sweet 
substance, which man extracts by mangling and boiling. 
The juice is manufactured into sugar in much the same 
way as that of the sugar cane. The beet sugar industry 
has thrived in Europe since 1850, when a German chemist 
discovered a method of extracting the sugar. For many 
years it has been an important occupation in Germany, 
Russia, Austria-Hungary, and France. During the last 
decade of the nineteenth century considerable attention 
was given it in our country, and it is now yielding large 
crops in Colorado, California, Michigan, Utah, Idaho, and 
Wisconsin. 

Cane and beet sugar are competing with each other in 
supplying the world's demand. Cane has the advantage 
in ease of cultivation. While the task of planting it is 
irksome, it is not so tiresome as the work required by the 



200 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Irrigating a field of sugar beets. 



beet. The sugar beet has the advantage of a larger area 
of possible cultivation than sugar cane has. It grows in 
temperate climates, while the cane is confined to warm 
belts. To promote sugar beet production some European 
countries pay bounties to the producers. 

Tobacco. — One of the most important plants found in 
America is tobacco. Before our country had a money 
system of its own, tobacco was the " coin of the realm " 
in some of the colonies. We are told that the early Vir- 
ginia planters even purchased a shipment of wives with 
this product of their fields. The- leading tobacco states 
are Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, 
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Maryland, West 
Virginia, and Connecticut. The United States is the great- 



FIELD CROPS OF THE UNITED STATES 



20I 



est exporter of tobacco, large quantities being sent to 
Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. 

An extract of tobacco is a destroyer of certain plant 
pests in nursery gardens. When sprinkled on the most 
delicate flowering plants, the blossoms remain uninjured 
while the insects are soon killed. This extract is of great 
value in the vineyards of Germany, France, and Italy, 
where it is used to destroy grape parasites. Used as a 
sheep dip it destroys ticks which bury themselves in the 
wool and damage the fleece. 

Educational Work. — The national government has a 
Department of Agriculture whose business is to study soils, 
crops, and farm animals, and to do many other things that 
will benefit the farmers of this country. This department 




Cutting tobacco, Kentucky. 

employs hundreds of scientific experts, who are engaged. in 
many lines of investigation. The Bureau of Soils is the 



202 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

branch of the department that studies the soils of the United 
States. Other leading branches of the department are 
Bureau of Plant Industry, Bureau of Animal Industry, 
Bureau of Chemistry, Weather Bureau, and Forest Service. 
Each state has a college of agriculture and an experi- 
ment station in which scientific agriculture is taught and 
agricultural experiments are carried on. As a result of 
this study, great improvements have been made in farm 
methods and in the general welfare of the farming popula- 
tion. Worn-out sections in the East and West have been 
almost made over. Wide-awake, public-spirited men have 
set up model farms where scientific methods are put into 
practice, and they share their knowledge with the farmers 
of the neighborhood. Thus the whole community is 
benefited by the practical agricultural teaching of scientific 
men. 

Questions and Exercises 

i. Make a collection of grains and other farm products. 
Collect good pictures of agricultural activities, such as wheat 
harvesting, haying, cotton picking, and corn harvesting. 

2. Visit a wheat field, a cotton field, a sugar plantation, a 
hay field, or an agricultural college. 

3. Find the present market prices of the products mentioned 
in this chapter. Are the prices rising or falling ? Why ? 

4. On the map of the world point out every continent, country, 
and city spoken of in this chapter. 

5. Is wheat or corn more valuable to us? Give reasons for 
your answer. 

6. Which of the leading field crops do not grow in your sec- 
tion ? Why ? 



CHAPTER XIV 
VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 

The pioneers, after coming to America, introduced many 
European fruits and also began to cultivate some of the 
native wild fruits. For a long time only enough for im- 
mediate local consumption was produced. But when ex- 
press trains and fast steamers came into use, the large 
cities were supplied with fruits and vegetables that 
grew hundreds of miles away. Refrigerator cars have 
made long shipments of perishable goods profitable, hence 
large sums are realized from orchards and gardens. 

Vegetables. — In many parts of the country people de- 
vote themselves to the growing of vegetables instead of 
field crops. This is especially the case in the vicinity of 
the large cities and in the warm South. Celery, lettuce, 
radishes, beets, beans, peas, cabbage, cucumbers, and pota- 
toes are raised. The most important vegetable grown in the 
United States is the potato. The New England, Middle 
Atlantic, and North Central States raise three fourths of 
this crop. The leading states in the yield of potatoes are 
New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Maine, and Pennsylvania. 
Most of the sweet potatoes are grown in the South. 

Abundance and Variety of Fruits. — The United States 
has a greater abundance and variety of fruits than any 
other country. Because of good soil and wide range of 
climate nearly all kinds can be produced, — tropical fruits, 
such as oranges, lemons, dates, figs, and pineapples, as well 
as the deciduous fruits of the temperate zone, such as apples 
and pears. The leading fruits, in order of value, are apples, 

203 



204 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

peaches, strawberries, oranges, grapes, plums, pears, cherries, 
raspberries, blackberries, lemons, apricots, and cranberries. 
Among those of less importance are pineapples, figs, dates, 
gooseberries, and currants. The only fruit that is exten- 
sively imported into the United States is the banana. 

There has been a remarkable increase in the quantity 
of fruits grown, consumed, and exported in the United 
States within the last decade. Our climate is sufficiently 
varied to enable us to have fresh fruit on our tables the 
year round. While the North is still covered with ice 
and snow in late winter, the markets offer ripe strawberries 
from the South. Week by week the ripening crop moves 
northward, so that the season lasts until July. Pineapples 
may be bought from the middle of April to the middle of 
July. Cherries last from May to August. Due to their 
excellent keeping qualities, apples and oranges are in the 
market all the year round. 

Diseases and Insect Pests. — Millions of dollars' worth 
of fruit are lost every year through diseases and insects. 
Fungous diseases cause the blight of pear trees, the bitter- 
rot of apples, and the mildew of grapes. Common insect 
pests are the San Jose scale of many fruits and the codling 
moth of the apple tree. Birds destroy many of the injurious 
insects, but they cannot keep them under control ; so the 
spraying of fruit trees to kill insects and disease-producing 
fungi is necessary in order to secure large crops of good fruit. 

Apples. — The most important fruit crop of the United 
States is apples. In general, they are more easily culti- 
vated and shipped than other fruits. The trees are hardy 
and require little care. The fruit keeps easily and so can 
be transported at comparatively little cost. The greatest 
apple-producing states are New York, Michigan, Penn- 



VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



205 



sylvania, Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, Virginia, Kentucky, 
Ohio, Washington, and California. 

Peaches. — In quantity and value peaches rank second 
among the fruits of this country. The main peach-growing 
sections are southern Michigan, the Lake Plains south of 
Lakes Erie and Ontario, the Atlantic Plain from Connecti- 
cut to Chesapeake Bay, the Southern States particularly 




Picking apples. 



206 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Georgia, and the Pacific States. The peaches are picked 
before they are quite ripe, then carefully packed, and 
shipped in refrigerator cars to the large cities. 

Plums. — Plums enter the market in the natural state 
for immediate use, and in canned and dried forms. Prunes 
are dried plums. The Pacific States are the great prune- 
producing section of our country. After the ripe plums are 
shaken from the trees, they are washed, assorted, treated 
with lye to soften the skins, and placed in shallow trays to 
dry in the sun. Then they are put in storage bins in which 
they undergo a " sweating " process. Finally the prunes are 
packed in boxes for shipment. Look at the can of plums 
on the shelf of a grocery store. Does the label show 
where they are grown and canned? 

Grapes. — In yield of grapes California ranks far ahead 
of any other state. Other grape-growing districts are 



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A vineyard near Lake Erie. 



VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 207 

Michigan and the Lake Plains in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and 
New York. The most famous grape-growing section in the 
East is Chautauqua county, New York, on Lake Erie. 
Most of California's enormous yield of one million tons is 
made into raisins, wine, and grape juice. About one fifth 
is sent away as fresh grapes. The packing is done in 
crushed cork and redwood sawdust to prevent damage to 
the fruit. To turn grapes into raisins, the fruit is placed 
in shallow trays in the open air and the sunlight for from 
ten to twenty days. In order to prevent the loss that 
would be caused by occasional rains, some raisin firms have 
built drying houses in which the grapes are cured. When 
the drying is completed, the raisins are packed and shipped 
to other parts of the country. To make wine, the juice is 
pressed out of the grapes, fermented, and then strained. 
The manufacture of grape juice is done on a large scale in 
California and New York. 

Small Fruits. — The strawberry is the most important 
of all the small fruits. It grows in all parts of the United 
States. Raspberries and blackberries grow wild, but are 
also cultivated; and several million dollars' worth are 
grown each year. These berries are produced mainly for 
immediate use. They must reach our tables soon after 
they are picked. Cranberries, so necessary to a Thanks- 
giving dinner, grow in moist peat bogs. The loose black 
soil is often covered with a layer of sand to prevent the 
growth of weeds. The berries grow on creeping or trailing 
shrubs, which are covered with water all winter and into 
the spring. The water protects the plants from the severe 
cold of winter, and delays blossoming until most of the 
danger from frosts is past. Nearly all of our cranberries 
are grown in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. 



208 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Citrous Fruits. — Oranges, lemons, limes, and grape- 
fruit are called citrous fruits. Most of the oranges of the 
United States are grown in California, Florida, Arizona, and 
Louisiana. The greatest orange district is southern Cali- 
fornia. The orange trees have glossy, evergreen leaves. 
Fragrant blossoms and green and yellow fruit may be seen 
on the trees at the same time. Most of the oranges ripen 
from December to July. After picking, the fruit is washed, 
assorted, packed, and shipped to all parts of the country 
and to foreign lands. Much care is taken to prevent in- 
jury to the oranges in picking and shipping. Fancy fruit 
is often protected by thin wrapping paper. 

The lemon grows in the same sections as the orange. 
Lemon trees bear constantly and the fruit may be found on 
the same tree in all stages from the blossom to the ripe 











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VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



209 




2IO 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



lemon. When the lemons reach the desired size, they are 
picked, whether ripe or green. The ripe ones are shipped 
at once, while the green ones are kept in storage to ripen. 
The care of lemon and orange orchards is much the same. 
The trees must be irrigated during the dry season. The 
soil of the orchards is cultivated during the spring and 
summer. Frosts sometimes damage the citrous orchards, 
hence frost protection is one problem of the fruit growers. 
Some orchards are equipped with hundreds of iron coal- 
baskets or small oil burners, which are lighted when the 
temperature drops to near the freezing point. 

Olives. — Olives are a semitropical fruit. It has been 
only a short time since the United States realized that in 
California and Arizona the soil and climate are as well 
adapted to such fruits as in Italy and Spain. The largest 
olive orchard in the world, near Los xAngeles, contains 1200 
acres, each with 100 trees. The chief products are pickled 

olives and olive oil. 
The oil is made by 
crushing ripe olives 
between rollers. 
Olives for pickling 
are picked while 
green, soaked in lye 
for several days to 
remove the bitter 
flavor, then treated 
with water to re- 
move all traces of 
the lye. After that 
they are placed in casks of brine and finally bottled. 
Figs and Pineapples. — These tropical or semitropical 




Packing figs. 



VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 



211 




fruits are grown somewhat extensively in the warmest sec- 
tions of the United States. California and the Gulf coast 
are the chief fig- 
growing regions. 
The raising of pine- 
apples is confined to 
Florida. 

The Leading Fruit 
State. — California 
is by far the lead- 
ing fruit state. Tt 
is first in the yield 
of oranges, lemons, 
plums and prunes, 
cherries, grapes, and 
olives. Large quan- 
tities of peaches, ap- 
ricots, apples, figs, and many other fruits are grown. Until 
recently the land now occupied by the great fruit ranches 
of the state was desert. 

Fruit Growing in Arid Regions. — Not only in California, 
but in other Western States, large orchards are now growing 
on lands that formerly were deserts. Large sections of 
the desert regions have soil that is very fertile, and all 
that it needs to become highly productive is the magic 
touch of water. The adjoining mountains are covered 
each winter with deep snows which, in summer, melt and 
produce great floods in the desert streams. In a short time 
after the snow disappears the water is all gone, and the 
stream beds are dry. In many places engineers have built 
great dams of masonry which hold back the flood water 
in huge reservoirs. From them, canals are built to conduct 



An irrigated orange orchard. 



212 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



the water to fertile fields below. Orchard lands which 
formerly were worthless now sell for $2000 per acre. The 
orange groves of California and the apple orchards of 
Washington and Oregon give handsome returns. In the 
Yakima valley of Washington apple orchards frequently 
yield $1700 worth of fruit per acre in one year. 

Shipment of Fruit. — The railroad plays an important 
part in the fruit business. By the use of refrigerator cars, 













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Packing oranges in a refrigerator car. 

fruits can be shipped long distances, and thus very exten- 
sive markets are within the reach of fruit growers. In the 
refrigerator cars, which are kept cool by ice, some of the 
fruit in the center of boxes and baskets does not become 
sufficiently cool to retard ripening and check decay. To 
remove this difficulty, precooling of fruit was adopted a 
few years ago. This process originated in the peach dis- 
trict of Georgia, and it has been quite generally adopted 



VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 213 

in the citrous belt of California. The fruit is chilled to 35°, 
40 , or 50 either in a warehouse before it is loaded or in 
cars after loading. After the fruit has been thoroughly 
precooled, the iced refrigerator cars can keep it cool during 
shipment. When fruit arrives at its destination, it is kept 
in cold storage until it enters the market. 

Conclusion. — For many years Americans gave little 
attention to the raising of fruit. Farmers generally had 
orchards merely to supply the home needs. Having set 
out the trees, they felt they had done their duty, and left 
the outcome to nature. Now orcharding in many localities 
has become an independent business. Many men devote 
all their time, energy, and capital to it. Fruit growers 
have formed horticultural societies in order to promote the 
work of improving fruits and to make each vine, bush, and 
tree bear more abundantly. New varieties of apples, 
peaches, pears, oranges, and other fruits are being created, 
and many foreign fruits are being successfully introduced 
into our country. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Make as large a list of fruits as you can. Which of them 
are raised in your vicinity? 

2. Examine a refrigerator car. How does it differ from 
others ? 

3. Describe a canning factory which you have visited. 

4. Did you ever raise fruit of any kind ? If so, tell the class 
about your experience. 

5. Observe with special care all fruit packing cases, such as 
boxes, barrels, cartons, crates, crushed cork, and excelsior. 

6. Define deciduous fruits ; citrous fruits. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE FORESTS OF THE UNITED STATES 

Former Extent of Our Forests. — Originally our country 
had forests unequaled by those of any other country. 
From the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River the coun- 
try was practically one vast forest area ; and in the Rocky 
Mountains and the mountain ranges near the Pacific there 
were large forests. In all there were about 850,000,000 
acres of forest land. So rapidly have the forests been 
cleared in order to make farms or have been cut down for 
lumber that to-day we have only about 60 per cent of the 
former area, and much of the present timber land has been 
cut over and the best trees removed. Although greatly 




Forest regions of the United States. 
214 



THE FORESTS OF THE UNITED STATES 



215 



depleted, our forests constitute an enormous source of 
wealth, and we still lead all other countries in the pro- 
duction of lumber. 




River transportation of logs. 

Forest Regions of the United States. — The forest areas 
of the United States are grouped into five large forest re- 
gions, — Northern, Southern, Central Hardwood, Rocky 
Mountain, and Pacific Coast forests. 

Northern Forest. — The main body of the Northern 
Forest lies in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, 
Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. A southward exten- 
sion follows the Appalachian Mountains to their southern 
border. The most important trees of the Northern Forest 
are pine, spruce, hemlock, white cedar, and fir. By far the 
most valuable species of this forest is the white pine which 
has been so extensivelv used for lumber. The greater part 



2l6 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

of the Northern Forest has been cleared, but in northern 
Maine, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the Green 
Mountains of Vermont, the Adirondacks of New York, the 
northern parts of the Lake States, and the Appalachians 
there are still large forest tracts. 

Central Hardwood Forest. — The greater part of the 
Central Hardwood Forest occupies the drainage basin of 
the Ohio River. Part of it lies west of the Mississippi, in 
the states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. 
The chief trees of this hardwood forest are oak, hickory, 
poplar, beech, walnut, ash, and elm. North of the Ohio 
nearly all of this forest has been cut down to make way for 
farms. In West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and 
Arkansas there are still great forests that supply very large 
quantities of lumber. Much of the hardwood lumber is 
used in the manufacture of furniture, flooring and interior 
finish of houses, and agricultural implements. 

Southern Forest. — The Southern Forest lies mainly in 
the Atlantic Coast Plain and Gulf Coast Plain of the South- 
ern States. This forest consists mainly of pines that have 
a hard, yellow, resinous wood. These yellow pines, as they 
are called, are valuable not only for lumber, but they also 
yield turpentine and tar. The cypress, growing in swamps, 
is another tree of great value. Its wood is so durable in con- 
tact with moisture that it is in great demand for shingles, 
boats, and tanks. The Southern Forest furnishes enormous 
quantities of lumber and other timber products. Louisiana 
is the leading lumber state of the Southern Forest and ranks 
second among the states of the Union. 

Rocky Mountain Forest. — The Rocky Mountain Forest 
occupies the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. The most 
dense tracts of timber are upon the western slopes, which 



THE FORESTS OF THE UNITED STATES 



217 




Making a trail through a western forest. 



have sufficient rainfall for tree growth. Western pines and 
other cone-bearing trees constitute most of the trees of this 
forest. 

Pacific Coast Forest. — Upon the western slopes of the 
Coast Ranges, Cascade Mountains, and Sierra Nevada are 
the great forest areas of the Pacific Coast Forest. The 
most important tree of this forest is the Douglas fir. Other 
valuable trees are cedar, spruce, hemlock, western white 
pine, and redwood. The densest forests are in Washington, 
upon the well-watered slopes facing the Pacific. This 
state leads all others in the production of lumber. The 
most wonderful trees in the world are the redwoods and 
" big trees " of California, many of which are over 300 feet 



21 8 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

high and between 2000 and 3000 years old. Several forest 
tracts containing these mammoth trees have been made 
into national parks. 

Forest Products. — Most of the forest trees are cut down 
and sawed into logs which are hauled to mills, where .they 
are sawed into boards or other forms of lumber. Many 
other trees are cut down to furnish mine timbers, railroad 
ties, telegraph poles, and firewood. Spruce and hemlock 
are largely used to make wood pulp from which paper is 
manufactured. Other forest products are charcoal, turpen- 
tine, tar, tanning extracts, and wood alcohol. Game and 
fish in the forests of our country furnish several million 
dollars' worth of food, and millions of dollars are realized 
also from the raw furs of forest animals. In the West 
millions of cattle and sheep graze upon the national forests. 

Forest Influences. — Forests exert considerable influence 
over the flow of streams whose drainage basins are wholly 
or partly within the forested area. A large amount of the 
rain is held in the thick leaf mold on the forest floor. This 
gradually soaks into the ground and appears again in springs 
several weeks later. Thus forests prevent extreme floods 
in time of heavy rain and very low water, in times of drought. 
In order to keep some of the rivers navigable even in dry 
seasons the Federal government is buying wooded tracts 
near the headwaters of the streams so that the forests may 
be kept permanently to regulate stream flow. In the irri- 
gation regions of the West forests are maintained at the 
headwaters of the streams that furnish water for irrigation 
in order to keep up the flow of water throughout the whole 
year. In the prairie regions of the United States the 
farmers plant groves of trees on the windward side of their 
houses to protect them against destructive storms of summer 



THE FORESTS OF THE UNITED STATES 219 




Wooded slopes bordering Seaghton Lake, Maine. 



220 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



and cold winds of winter. The soil on steep wooded slopes 
is held in place by the roots of the trees. When the trees 
are cut down, the soil is washed away, and the slopes are 
left too barren to support plant life. Such slopes should be 
kept permanently in forest. 

National Forests. — The United States had such an 
abundance of standing timber that for many years no one 
dreamed that it could be exhausted. By and by, however, 
people saw the end of the supply would soon come if forest 
destruction was not checked. To insure a permanent 
supply of timber, Congress in 1891 passed a law that forests 
on the public lands could be reserved from settlement and 
made into national forests. To-day the United States has 
about 140,000,000 acres in national forests, an area equal to 
that of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Nearly all of 
these national forests are in the Western States ; some of the 
smaller ones, however, are in the eastern part of the country. 




National forests and national parks of the United States. 



THE FORESTS OF THE UNITED STATES 



221 



The Forest Service. — The Forest Service, a branch of 
the Department of Agriculture, has charge of the national 
forests. The trained 
foresters of the Serv- 
ice supervise lum- 
bering operations in 
these forests, re- 
move dead and dis- 
eased trees, plant 
new trees, guard 
the forests against 
fires, and regulate 
the grazing of live 
stock within the 
forest. The Forest 
Service, in addition 
to its care of the 
national forests, con- 
ducts a campaign of 
education in for- 
estry. It gives in- 
struction in such Ranger looking for fires. 

subjects as prevention of waste in lumbering and manufac- 
ture of wood products, increasing the productivity of 
forests, uses of commercial woods, methods of fighting 
destructive insects and diseases, fire prevention, and the 
preservation of wood by chemical treatment. 

Conclusion. — Although large areas of forests have been 
cut down in order to furnish lumber and to make way for 
farms, yet we still have enormous areas of woodlands. 
Lumbering and the manufacture of wood products is one of 
our leading industries. The American people are extensive 




222 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

users of lumber and other timber products, but the present 
forests will be ample to meet future needs if they are brought 
up to their maximum yield and if all avoidable wastes are 
prevented and the fullest possible utilization made of all 
timber. 

Questions and Exercises 

i. Name and locate the five forest regions of the United 
States. 

2. Which are the two leading lumber states? 

3. What are national forests? 

4. What influences do forests exert over floods ? 

5. Make a list of the chief forest products. 

6. Visit some factory where wood products are manufac- 
tured. 

7. Make a collection of different kinds of wood. Learn the 
chief uses of each. 



CHAPTER XVI 
DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 

Importance of Domestic Animals. — While plants are 
very useful in supplying man with the necessities of life, 
animals are scarcely less important. They furnish meat 
for food, and skins for clothing and shelter. By affording 
means of transportation they greatly promoted civilization 
in the early stages of man's development. The North 
American Indian was acquainted only with the wild life of 
the forest, and knew nothing of the care and value of 
domesticated fowls, sheep, cattle, and horses. As long as 
the game in the forest, together with wild roots, herbs, and 
berries, were plentiful, the Red Man knew no want, for 
hunting was his greatest joy. But when the long cold 
winters made game scarce, famine stared him in the face. 

Longfellow gives us a vivid picture of the suffering at 
such times : 

O the long and dreary winter ! 
O the cold and cruel winter ! 
Ever thicker, thicker, thicker 
Froze the ice on lake and river ; 
Ever deeper, deeper, deeper, 
Fell the snow o'er all the landscape, 
Fell the covering snow, and drifted 
Through the forest, round the village. 

Hardly from his buried wigwam 
. Could the hunter force a passage ; 
With his mittens and his snowshoes 
Vainly walked he through the forest, 
Sought for bird or beast and found none, 
Saw no track of deer or rabbit, 
In the snow beheld no footprints ; 
In the ghastly, gleaming forest 
Fell, and could not rise from weakness, 
Perished there from cold and hunger. 
223 



224 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



When the white men arrived, they used the bison, deer, 
and other wild animals for food, but with their advanced 
notions of living they could not go back to that primitive 
condition of depending on game alone; and so from the 
start they introduced European animals, — chickens, geese, 
cows, horses, swine, and sheep into this New World. 

Present Rank of the United States in Meat Production. 
— The three greatest meat-producing regions in the world 
are Australia, Argentina, and the United States. Because 
of her excellent sheep pastures, Australia exports large 
quantities of mutton. The boundless pampas of Argen- 
tina, where the population is still scarce, afford excellent 
feeding grounds for both sheep and cattle ; therefore that 
country supplies the world with much beef as well as mutton. 
Because of its enormous corn crop, our own country ranks 
first of all in the production of meat animals, especially 
in hogs and beef cattle. Densely populated Europe, 




Distribution of cattle and principal meat-packing centers of the United 

States. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 225 

where there are limited pastures and but little corn, depends 
largely upon these three countries for its meat. 




) Detroit Photographic Co 



A cattle ranch, Texas. 



Cattle Industry. — In 1910 in the United States there 
were more than 60,000,000 cattle. Texas, Iowa, Kansas, 
Nebraska, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, New York, Min- 
nesota, and California are the ten leading cattle states. 
This shows that the industry is very widely distributed, 
but that the South is not well represented. The largest 
cattle markets are Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, Kansas City, 
Sioux City, and Cheyenne. 

Cattle Ranches on the Plains. — In the western moun- 
tains and plains where the population is not dense, and 
where the rainfall is too scant for profitable agriculture, 
but sufficient to produce good pasturage, there are large 
cattle ranches, sometimes thousands of acres in extent. 



226 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

The most noted ranch states are Texas, Montana, Wyo- 
ming, and Colorado. Formerly when much of " the plains " 
was still public land, the animals were turned loose to wan- 
der at will over wide ranges of territory. This is still true 
in a few places. They practically take care of themselves, 
summer and winter. These roaming cattle require about 
twenty-five acres each for a year's support. Now that 
public land is becoming scarce in many places and farms 
are becoming more numerous, men have to fence in their 
stock, and raise alfalfa or other feed for the winter store. 

Cattle in the Corn Belt. — The cattle in the corn belt, 
including Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Indiana, 
Kansas, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, fare 
even better than those on ranches, for corn is a very nutri- 
tious cattle food. So this is the greatest cattle-raising sec- 
tion. Much of the corn is fed to the cattle as silage. The 
corn is cut while green, and the stalks, leaves, and ears are 
stored in large air-tight wooden or concrete structures 
called silos. Kept from contact with the air silage remains 
green and nutritious, and is fed as needed during the winter. 

Dairy Products. — About one third of our cattle are 
raised chiefly for milk. The production of milk is largest 
near the great centers of population ; and the majority of 
these at present are in the eastern and north central parts 
of the country. New York, Wisconsin, and Iowa have 
the largest dairy interests. Minnesota, Illinois, Texas, 
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri,. and Michigan also carry on 
considerable dairy business. Since 1900, this industry has 
been making great progress in the Pacific States, especially 
in the Willamette valley. 

Pure Milk Supply. — Great interest is taken in the 
question of pure milk supply. Formerly a dairyman and 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 227 



his family cared for their cows as best they could, milked 
them mornings and evenings, and put the milk into three- 
or four-gallon cans. In the early morning one of the men 
peddled it among town customers, pouring a pint or a 
quart into each buyer's bucket or pitcher. To some houses 
he came before the people had risen. There he placed the 
uncovered milk on the doorstep, where it absorbed foul 
air, dust, and even flies. At other houses he arrived long 
after breakfast. These families either had no milk for 
the morning meal or they used what was left from the 
previous day. No one complained, because people knew 
of no better way. 
At the present time, 
dairies are kept in 
much better sanitary 
condition than in the 
past. Now both 
animals and barn 
look as if they had 
a daily bath. In 
many places the 
cows pass through 
clear water to clean their feet before entering their stalls 
to be milked. The single stalls are well partitioned from 
neighboring ones, so that the creatures may not molest 
each other. The barn is frequently whitewashed ; the 
stalls are cleaned daily, and the milkers do their work in 
clean white trousers and jackets. Then the milk is bottled, 
chilled, and delivered at a regular hour. 

Where farmers have only a few gallons to sell, they make 
arrangements with the milk station to collect the milk 
twice daily. The collector gathers all he can from a given 





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A well-kept dairy barn. 



228 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



territory, takes it to the railroad, on which it is carried by 
steam or electric cars to the milk station, which pays for 
it not by the gallon, but by the amount of butter fat it 
contains. There is often great difference in the size of the 
cream collars in various bottles of milk. This is due to 
the difference of fat in the milk given by cows. A gallon 
of milk from one cow may be worth twice as much as the 
same amount from another. 

When the milk from a number of farmers arrives at the 
milk station, it is all poured into large vats, where it is 
pasteurized and standardized. In pasteurization, the bac- 
teria injurious to health are destroyed. The standardiz- 
ing process thoroughly mixes the milk from the various 
farms so that it is uniform in quality. Some of the em- 
ployees are kept busy 
scalding the bottles in 
hot lye solutions and 
rinsing them with clear 
water so that they are 
perfectly clean. After 
the milk has been stand- 
ardized, the bottles are 
filled, and sealed by 
machinery with a little 
circular pasteboard cap. 
Then they are stored in 
the refrigerating rooms 
until the delivery men 
load them shortly after 
midnight and make their 
lonely trips through the 
A milk separator. quiet streets while we 




DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 229 




are sleeping. The bottle of milk appears at our doorstep 
in time for breakfast every morning of the year. 

Butter and Cheese. — Much butter is manufactured in 
large creameries. The milk gathered from the various 
farms is poured into a machine called a separator, which 
separates the cream fat from the thin milk. In a revolving 
churn driven 'by an 
engine several hun- 
dred pounds of cream 
are whipped and 
kneaded into butter, 
which is then salted, 
packed, and shipped 
to near-by points. 
Most of the cheese is 
also machine-made . 
It is produced by 
cooking, draining, and kneading the curds of sour milk. 
About one fourth of the world's supply of butter and 
cheese is manufactured in the United States. While our 
country ranks as the greatest producer of dairy products, 
it exports very little butter and cheese. 

Cooperative Dairying. — Prosperous dairying does not 
always depend upon natural advantages alone. In some 
ways the prairies of Kansas and Nebraska are better fitted 
for this business than Minnesota and Wisconsin. The 
latter, however, make greater progress because they have 
formed cooperative creameries. That means that the 
farmers themselves own and help manage the factories 
and so make all the profits ; while in the states farther 
west the farmers sell to large private creameries that pay 
much less per pound for butter fat than the cooperative 



Churning butter. 



230 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



establishments in the North. This lesson of cooperation 
was learned from little Denmark, which exports more 
butter than any other country in the world. 

Butter Substitutes. — Oleomargarine and butterine are 
butter substitutes made of the softer animal fats that 
are pressed out of beef tallow and suet. After these are 
churned with sweet milk and cottonseed oil, they are 
kneaded and salted just as butter is. Oleomargarine so 
closely resembles butter that it is sometimes sold as butter. 
When substitutes are sold as butter, a great injury is done 
to the dairy industry. To protect it and the consumer, 
Congress has passed a law requiring honest labeling of 
certain food articles, and prohibiting the coloring of oleo- 
margarine to make it resemble butter. 

The Swine Industry. — The United States produces 
more swine than any other country; indeed, the American 




Distribution of swine in the United States. One dot represents 2,500 

swine. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 231 









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A herd of swine. 

farmers raise more hogs than Russia, Germany, and 
Austria combined, the next largest producers. We are 
able to supply one third of the world's pork because of 
our large corn crop, fifty per cent of which is fed to 
hogs. Live animals are not exported in great numbers, 
but flesh goes into foreign lands in the form of cured, 
canned, or fresh meat, or as lard and other packing-house 
products. 

Hogs are raised in every part of the country, but the 
great swine region is in the corn belt of the North 
Central States, in the very heart of the continent. The 
leading states in 19 13 were Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, 
Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, and Ohio. Omaha, Kansas 
City, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Cleve- 
land, Buffalo, and Cincinnati carry on a large pork -pack- 
ing business. 

Sheep Raising and the Wool Industry. — Sheep yield 
fiber for clothing and mutton for food ; but man has not 
yet learned how to produce a sheep that will yield both 



232 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




) Fair & Thompson. 



A sheep range, Idaho. 



excellent meat and first-class wool. Argentina and Aus- 
tralia lead in mutton sheep ; but the United States raises 
the sheep chiefly for its wool. Our earliest imported sheep 
were not good wool producers, so 26,000 merino sheep were 
brought from Spain in 18 10, and scattered in various sec- 
tions. This breed produces a very strong fiber, and 
thrives well on the coarsest food. 

In general sheep can get a living on land that will not 
support other animals, so they are well adapted to 
mountainous regions. They do well even on pastures 
that have been cropped almost to starvation point by 
cattle. For these reasons sheep raising has followed close 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 233 

upon the heel of the cattle ranches in the semiarid 
western plains, and the western mountains have taken 
the lead in sheep production. 

The American Wool Clip. — The wool clip of the United 
States meets only two thirds of the home needs. The 
remaining third, of a finer quality than our own and 
used for a better grade of goods, comes from foreign 
lands. Ohio and Michigan lead among the wool- 
producing states of the East. Montana, Wyoming, New 
Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, California, Utah, and Colorado 
rank first in the West. The greatest profit from sheep 
raising comes from the wool which is clipped from them. 
Once a year, after the warm weather of summer is as- 
sured, the sheep are sheared. Long ago this was done 
by hand. Now they are shorn of their warm fleeces in 
a few minutes by machinery. The wool is baled into 




Distribution of sheep in the United States. One dot represents 2,500 

sheep. 



234 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



bundles of several hundred pounds each and shipped to 
various manufacturing centers. 

Manufacturing Woolen Cloth. — Most of the wool is 
sent to eastern cities, especially to Boston, the largest 
wool market in the United States and the second in the 
world. From Boston the fleeces are distributed to various 
cities to be manufactured into cloth. Providence, Lowell, 

Manchester, New 
York, and Philadel- 
phia have the great- 
est woolen factories 
in the country. The 
last-named city and 
the surrounding 
towns of Camden 
and Chester weave 
fine carpets. To- 
day the United 
States manufactures 
more carpets than 
any other country. 

When the fleeces 
reach the factory, 
they are sorted ac- 
cording to quality and length of fiber. Then they are 
washed with soap to remove the grease and dirt. In this 
process the very greasy fleeces lose from one half to four 
fifths of their weight. The grease, which sometimes 
amounts to three fifths of the entire weight, is converted 
into soap. The scoured wool is treated with acid to de- 
stroy all vegetable matter that may have been left after 
the washing. Next it is combed and spun into yarn which 




Wool sorting. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 235 

is woven into cloth. Woolen fabrics have many different 
names ; such as, worsted, flannel, serge, broadcloth, cheviot, 
cassimere, velvet, and plush. Often wool threads are 
woven with cotton and silk, thus producing mixed goods. 
Before the cloth comes to us in the form of a garment it is 
steamed, shrunk, pressed, measured, and carefully wrapped 
around a board, in lengths of forty or fifty yards. The 
bundle is then incased in paper. A number of such 
packages are placed in a box and shipped to the tailors. 

Value of our Sheep Products. — The annual wool clip 
of the United States is worth nearly 100 million dollars. 
Manufacturing raises its value to between 300 and 400 
million dollars. The mutton product is worth about 50 
million. The skins are made into leather ; the tallow into 
candles ; the bones into fertilizer. These products, added 
to the meat and wool, make the sheep a profitable part of 
our animal industry. 

The Goat Industry. — Goat raising is not an important 
industry in the United States, although widely scattered 
throughout the country. Over a third of the goats are 
Angoras, many of which are descended from nine Angoras 
introduced from Turkey in 1849. About that time an 
American was sent to Turkey , upon the Sultan's request, 
to do some experimenting in cotton raising. The ruler 
was so pleased with the results, that he gave the nine 
goats as a present to the man who showed him how to 
raise cotton. 

The fleece, called mohair, of the Angora is sometimes 
nineteen inches long. This fiber is woven into cloth and 
carpets and also a high grade of plush, much used in 
railway car upholstery. Goats also yield rich milk, fine 
pelts for rugs and robes, and excellent skins for leather. 



236 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



They can be easily raised on land that is practically 
valueless for farming. Through their browsing, goats 
help to clean out shrubs and seedling trees from wooded 
localities. 

Poultry and Eggs. — Last but not least of the domestic 
animals that are raised for food are fowls — chickens, 
geese, ducks, and turkeys. The rapidly increasing popu- 
lation has created a large demand for poultry and eggs. 




A poultry farm. 



While almost every farmer raises poultry, yet many people 
devote themselves entirely to this industry. Since corn is 
well adapted to egg production as well as for fattening fowls, 
the corn belt exceeds all other regions in the number of 
poultry. The leading states are Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, 
Ohio, Kansas, and Indiana. 

Ostrich Farming. — Ostrich farming is a young industry 
in the United States. The first birds were imported in 
1882 ; and it took a long time for men to learn how they 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 237 

can best be raised in this climate. In 19 10 they numbered 
a little over 6000. They are produced in Arizona, Cali- 
fornia, Arkansas, Florida, and Texas. Dry sandy soil 
with good drainage and irrigation facilities, well adapted 
to the raising of alfalfa, is best suited to successful ostrich 
production. As the demand for ostrich feathers increases, 
the future prospects for this industry seem good. The 
average annual yield of feathers per bird is a pound and a 
quarter, worth about twenty-five dollars. A pair of breed- 
ing ostriches is worth about eight hundred dollars ; a chick 
six months old brings a hundred dollars. 

Horses. — The remaining domestic animals raised for 
profit in the United States are horses and mules. They are 
valuable for draft and farm use. While raised in all the 
states, horses are most numerous in the North and West. 
The finest light saddle horses are produced in the Ken- 
tucky blue-grass districts ; therefore Lexington is the chief 
race-horse market in the country. For some time our 
work horses did not compare favorably with those of 
Europe. But recently they have been improved by the 
importation of high-grade European stock. It has not 
been long since the countries of Europe have been willing 
to buy our horses. Omaha and Kansas City, in the midst 
of the corn and grazing districts, are the leading centers 
for work horses. 

Mules. — Since horses cannot stand so warm a climate 
as mules, the latter are in greater demand in the South. 
At the last census there were twelve times as many horses 
as mules in the North, while in the South there were only 
one and a half times as many. The value of mules consists 
in their enduring quality and their ability to stand hard 
usage, such as railroad construction work. The mule is 



2 3 8 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




© Underwood & Underwood. 



Stockyards, Chicago. 



also receiving increased favor for farm use. One reason 
for his popularity is that the expense of keeping him is less 
than for the horse. 

Stockyards and Packing Houses. -7- Cattle, hogs, and 
sheep raised for meat are shipped in stock cars to the cities 
where the great packing houses are located. On their, 
arrival the trains stop alongside stockyards, which may 
cover many acres and look like cities laid out in pens, 
separated by board fences. Each pen has a gate leading 
into the long passageways that form the streets of the 
yards. As soon as the door of the car is opened, the ani- 
mals walk down inclined gangways into the narrow roads. 
Men and boys with long wooden staffs guide them to their 
various pens, where the animals are fed, and inspected by 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 239 

prospective purchasers. Those remaining are soon taken 
to the packing houses, where they are quickly killed. 
Within a few minutes after the operation they hang as 
dressed beef, pork, or mutton in the refrigerators of the 
abattoirs. After the meat has been sufficiently chilled, it is 
placed on the market. 

To promote the health of employees and consumers, 
much attention is given to the sanitary conditions of pack- 
ing establishments. They must be well lighted, have an 
abundant supply of pure water, a perfect system of im- 
mediate sewage removal and the very best system of ven- 
tilation. The ceilings, walls, columns, and floors should 
always be perfectly clean. Well-lighted and thoroughly 
ventilated dressing rooms for employees are a necessity. 

Exports of Animal Products. — While our foreign ship- 
ments of animal products have been very large in the past 
and are still an important part of our exports, there has 
been an annual decrease for several years. This is due to 
a number of causes. Our growing population has decreased 
the surplus supply. Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, 
and South Africa have come in as competitors. Great 
Britain is reducing her purchases from us because she is so 
well supplied by her colonies. However, she still buys 
about half our meat exports. 

Refrigeration of Meat. — The exportation of meat, fish, 
oysters, fruit, dairy products, and other perishable food 
would be out of the question if we had no means of pre- 
serving them while on the journey. The world's trade has 
been greatly increased since 1875 by cold storage devices 
used in cars and steamers. The first meat carried in a 
refrigerator car was sent from Chicago to Jersey City, 
when our country was a hundred years old. Before the 



240 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



days of cold storage live animals for meat were exported 
on cattle ships. 

Preserved Meats and Extract Products. — There are 
other means whereby meat products may be transported 
long distances and stored many months. Beef, pork, fish, 
and mutton may be salted, dried, canned, or smoked. The 

fat of cattle and 
hogs is rendered 
into lards and cook- 
ing oils. Part of 
the meat is ground 
up, seasoned, and 
pressed into sau- 
sages, which can be 
smoked and pre- 
served for months. 
We even extract the 
juice from the meat 
and seal it in small 
jars, or compress it 
into broth tablets. 

Animal By-prod- 
ucts. — The dis- 
covery of uses for 
every part of cattle, 
hogs, sheep, goats, 
and poultry has added millions to our wealth and many 
conveniences to our daily living. Our great cattle and sheep 
industries have given the United States the lead in the manu- 
facture of leather footwear. Millions of boots and shoes 
are made in Brockton, Lynn, and other Massachusetts towns, 
and also in New York, Rochester, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, 




) Underwood & Underwood. 

Meat packing. 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 24 1 

Chicago, and St. Louis. Rawhide is made into ropes, ma- 
chinery belts, and whips. A writing parchment and a book- 
binding material are made of the skins of calves, goats, and 
sheep. Dressed sheepskins also make fine rugs. Pig- 
skins are made into saddles and satchels. Horse flesh is 
eaten in several European countries, France and Germany, 




Loading a refrigerator car with meats. 

for example. Horsehide is manufactured into shoe leather, 
saddles, and razor strops. Gloves are made of the skins 
of lambs, goats, and other animals. 

From the tallow are produced oleomargarine, lubricants, 
leather dressing, soap, and candles. The feet, hide cuttings, 
and sinews are turned into gelatin and sizing. Combs, 
buttons, chemicals, handles for knives, toothbrushes, and 
umbrellas are manufactured from the bones, horns, and 
hoofs. Bones are also converted into glue, charcoal filter, 
and boneblack. The long tail hairs of cows and horses 
are used for haircloth and bowstrings for musical instru- 
ments. Pepsin is prepared from the lining of the stomachs, 



242 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

sausage casings are made of the intestines, and fertilizer 
is obtained from the refuse parts of all domestic animals. 
The short body hair is made into roofing felt and is mixed 
with lime to form plaster. Feathers are made into pillows, 
and wool makes the most serviceable winter clothing. Is 
there any doubt that animals play a valuable part in the 
civilization and advancement of man? 

Improving American Animals. — Man has made great 
improvements in domestic animals. The colonists brought 
their stock with them from England, Holland, and other 
European countries. The greater number of American 
cattle have descended from these. Not until the nineteenth 
century was any interest taken in purity of breed, but 
since then animal breeding has received considerable atten- 
tion. Men especially interested in this field have formed 
cattle, swine, sheep, and poultry associations which hold 
annual conventions for the discussion of vital questions. 
There are more than 100,000 stock raisers who produce 
only pure-bred animals. In recent years good breeds 
have been imported from Europe, where stock raising is 
studied with great care. By intelligent experimenting, 
men have learned how to breed sheep for mutton or wool, 
horses for speed or hard work, and cows for milk or beef. 
Greater profits have resulted from feeding to stock the 
food best adapted to produce desired qualities of flesh, 
wool, or milk. 

Bureau of Animal Industry. — The most progressive 
nations are making careful studies of the diseases of domes- 
tic animals, in the hope of eventually stamping them out. 
The United States Department of Agriculture has a Bureau 
of Animal Industry which is giving much attention to all 
matters pertaining to animal welfare. They publish the 



DOMESTIC ANIMALS OF THE UNITED STATES 243 

results of their investigations and experiments in bulletins, 
which are distributed among farmers and stockmen. An 
important work of the Bureau is the inspection of meat in 
packing houses. All meat for export and for interstate 
trade must be examined by the Federal inspectors. Thus 
consumers are protected from diseased meat. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Explain how the development of the cattle industry de- 
pended upon inventions. 

2. What animal serves man most in supplying material for 
clothing ? 

3. Make as complete a wool exhibit as possible. 

4. Color an outline map of the United States, showing the 
chief districts in which cattle are raised. In which sheep 
are raised. In which horses are raised. 

5. Make a list of the names of canned and preserved meats 
that you find on the market or in advertisements. 

6. Prepare an exhibit of pictures of domestic animals, their 
food, shelter, and by-products. 

7. Tell how you would ship a load of hogs from an Iowa 
farm to Chicago. A cargo of meat from Chicago to Liverpool. 
To Hamburg. 



CHAPTER XVII 
FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 

A discussion of the animal wealth of our country would 
be incomplete if we overlooked fish. This country first 
entered its commercial career by the export of fish in ad- 
dition to lumber and tobacco. To-day the United States 
has fishery resources valued at $55,000,000 a year, which 
give employment to 150,000 fishermen, and 10,000 wage- 
earners in canning and preserving establishments. 

Fishing Grounds of the United States. — The fishing 
grounds adjoining the United States are well distributed 
along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. The Great 
Lakes and the Mississippi and many other rivers afford 
excellent inland fishing facilities. To these must be added 
the large resources of Alaskan waters. 

New England Fisheries. — The largest ocean harvests of 
this country are landed at Boston, Massachusetts. The 
earliest New England settlers were happy when they found 
that the coasts were teeming with the finest of cod, halibut, 
shad, mackerel, and herring. These fish are a great source 
of food and of wealth to the people, even to this day. 
Owing to the shallow waters of the many inlets of the 
North Atlantic section, which form fine feeding and spawn- 
ing grounds, many fish are caught directly off the coast by 
the shore-line fishermen, who are usually independent 
workers, each the sole master of his boat. 

The deep-sea fishing carried on in some cases as far as 
two hundred miles from shore, or as far north as New- 

244 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



245 



foundland, a thousand miles away, is done by large fast- 
sailing schooners having the best of outfits. There are 
comfortable quarters and stores of good food for the men ; 
and water tanks and all sorts of contrivances for cleaning 
and salting the fish as fast as they are caught. While the 
boats are usually 
owned by rich com- 
panies whose head- 
quarters are in 
Gloucester, Boston, 
or Province town, the 
fishermen take the 
keenest interest in 
their work, for this 
is a cooperative busi- 
ness in which the 
employees share in 
the profits of the re- 
turns. The captains 
of the ships know 
the fishing grounds 
and understand the 
weather conditions 
for fishing as well as 
the gardener under- 
stands his soil, drain- 
age, and the climatic conditions that will lead to certain suc- 
cess. The fishing is usually done not from the schooner, but 
from small dories that are let down into the water from the 
deck of the larger vessel. A large crew can thus be scattered 
over a considerable area with several men in each boat. The 
dories are emptied into the schooner as soon as they are 




Fishing boats in Boston harbor. 



246 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



filled ; and when the latter is loaded, it returns to the port 
from which it started. There the fish are sold in the 
markets, or dried, or canned, and shipped to other inland 
cities. 

Massachusetts surpasses all other New England states in 
its sea products, especially in cod ; Connecticut ranks 
second, leading in oysters ; and Maine, with its many in- 
dentations, islands, and rocky shores, ranks third and leads 
in lobsters. 

Risks and Hardships of Fishing. — While this free life 
on the sea is alluring, there are many serious hardships 
connected with it, especially for the deep-sea fishermen. 
The " banks " off Newfoundland are often enveloped in 
dense fogs, which hide approaching steamers and icebergs, 
that without a moment's notice dash into and shatter the 
helpless dories, and sometimes even the large schooners. 




Lobster hatchery, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 247 

Sudden violent storms drive the frail boats ruthlessly about 
on the wild waves and sometimes capsize them. Occa- 
sionally a boat is driven so far away from all the others 
that it is impossible to get back to the food supply in time 
to save the men from starvation. While the men are out 
struggling with untamed nature, their families are worry- 
ing and praying for them at home, sometimes only to learn 
in the end that the head of a household will never return. 




ti«§iyyiiifc 



© Detroit Photographic Co. 

Oyster dredging. 

Fisheries of the Middle Atlantic States. — The greatest 
commercial returns of our country from the fishing industry 
are netted in the Middle Atlantic group, where New York 
and New Jersey are the foremost producers. This is the 
most densely populated region in the United States, which 
fact, together with transportation facilities, and the adja- 
cent inlets and estuaries well stocked with oysters, shad, 



248 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

crabs, and menhaden, accounts for the extensive fishing 
industry. The oyster fisheries centered about Long 
Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay yield a 
third of the entire oyster output of the United States and 
are the most noted oyster beds in the world. This is by 
far the most important sea product of the Middle Atlantic 
States. One of the chief industries of Baltimore is the 
canning and preserving of oysters. The United States 
sends annually thousands of barrels of oysters to Europe. 
So great has been the demand for this food that there is 
danger of exhausting the supply. Therefore, oyster farms 
are cultivated with as much care as grain fields. To in- 
crease the supply, countless young oysters are planted in 
the bays and estuaries along the Atlantic. 

Fishing Industries of the South. — The chief fishing in- 
dustries of the South Atlantic and Gulf States are those of 
oysters, shrimps, and large green Florida turtles. Florida 
is also renowned for its sponges, of which it markets over 
half a million dollars' worth annually. Sponges are the 
fibrous skeletons of large masses of jelly-like animals, which 
grow on rocks at the bottom of warm, shallow seas. They 
are torn from their bed by three-pronged forks. The 
living matter soon decays and leaves the framework. This 
is the sponge of commerce. 

Fisheries of the Great Lakes. — Whitefish, lake trout, 
sturgeon, herring, blue pike, and yellow perch are the chief 
products of the Great Lakes, most of them being taken 
from the waters west of Niagara Falls. Formerly more 
than a million pounds of fish were obtained annually from 
the lakes, but the small-meshed nets, used by the fishermen, 
caught countless young fish, which being unfit for use 
were left to die on the shores. Thus fishing in the lakes 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



249 



has been seriously injured, in spite of all that the fish com- 
mission has done to restock the waters with great numbers 
of small fry. 

Pacific Fisheries. — The salmon of the West, abundant 
along the Pacific coast from Alaska to San Francisco, are 
the most interesting of all our fishes. These fish begin and 
end their lives in the fresh waters of inland rivers; but 
by far the largest 
part of their exist- 
ence is spent in the 
salt waters of the 
ocean near the 
mouth of some river 
or in a shallow in- 
dentation along the 
coast. Salmon fish- 
eries, extending from 
the Golden Gate to 
Puget Sound, are the 
most valuable in the 
United States, with 
the exception of 
the oyster grounds. 
The largest salmon 
canneries are situated on the Columbia River and Puget 
Sound. The first place in value among our true fishes 
belongs to the salmon. Only one other species surpasses 
them in the world, and that is the sea herring. 

A Bit of Salmon History. — Five important varieties of 
salmon, ranging in size from eight to sixty pounds, with 
occasional specimens of over a hundred pounds, abound in 
the United States, especially in the streams of Oregon. 




Salmon fishing in Puget Sound. 



250 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Washington, and Idaho, When the salmon are about ready 
to lay their eggs, they leave the salt ocean waters and 
start a long journey, sometimes of 2000 miles, up a con- 
venient stream. This river is frequently the one in which 
they themselves were hatched. So strong are the salmon 
at this time that they are able to make these trips against 
the swiftest currents, rapids, and even over falls ten feet 
high. When they have reached a suitable spot, the female 
lays several thousand eggs, covers them in a heap of 
gravel, and leaves them to the mercy of nature; for both 
parents die even before the eggs are hatched. Most of 
the spawning occurs in the fall and the eggs hatch several 
weeks later. The chances for a salmon to develop from 
the egg to a full-grown fish are very small. In the first 
place, from three fifths to four fifths of the eggs are eaten 
by other fish. Of those that are hatched so many are 
devoured either near the home nest or on the trip to the 
ocean that only five or ten per cent live to reach full size. 
To prevent this enormous loss the Bureau of Fisheries 
has constructed hatcheries in which salmon eggs are 
secured and hatched, and the young are cared for until 
able to shift for themselves. As a result, eighty-five per 
cent of the eggs are developed into good-sized fish. 

Catching Salmon. — The salmon industry began about 
fifty years ago. As soon as canning and refrigeration were 
introduced it grew so rapidly that extinction of the fish 
was imminent. The Columbia River fishermen work during 
July and August when the salmon are starting on their 
inland journey. Then the river is filled with the finest 
fish. They are caught in gill nets, traps, or fish wheels. 
The gill net, over a thousand feet long and forty feet wide, 
is stretched between the two boats across the river in the 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 



251 



path of the salmon. The upper edge floats on the surface 
of the water, buoyed up by cork, and the lower edge is 
held in place by weights. The meshes of the net permit 
the head of the fish to go through, but not the body. The 
gills prevent the captives from backing out. Thus the 
salmon are held fast until taken out by the men. In swift 
currents the fish are dipped up in wire nets that swing from 
the rim of water wheels. The wheels are fastened to piers 
extending from the banks of the stream ; and are kept in 
motion by the moving water. Salmon traps are made of 
netting fastened to a circle of posts in the water, in such a 
manner that the unsuspecting fish easily finds its way into 
them. There they remain until removed by the men. 

Canning Salmon. — All along the lower Columbia are 
many canning establishments where the fish are prepared 
for the market. As 



soon as the salmon 

are delivered at the 

factories they are 

cleaned, canned, 

cooked, and labeled 

so quickly that it 

almost seems to be 

done by magic. 

The head, fins, and 

tail are cut off. 

The body is scraped 

inside and out, and given a final washing. Then they are 

cut into the right lengths for the cans, which are packed 

and sealed by machinery. A small venthole is left in the 

top of the can until the contents have been cooked. The 

opening is then sealed ; and the cans are cooled, cleaned, 




Salmon canning. 



252 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

and labeled. Finally they are packed in cases and shipped 
to all parts of the world. 

* Alaskan Fisheries. — The Alaskan waters are exceed- 
ingly profitable fishing grounds. Salmon, cod, and halibut 
abound. The seal fisheries have more than paid for Alaska. 
Since that peninsula and the adjoining islands were pur- 
chased from Russia in 1867 for $7,200,000, the United 
States government has received $9,000,000 for leases giving 
certain companies the privilege of catching seals in these 
waters. 

The largest seal-breeding place in the world comprises 
the five rocky, desolate Pribilof Islands in Bering Sea. 
About the first of May the males arrive on these islands 
from their winter quarters in warmer southern seas. The 
females, called cows, arrive at the rookeries, as the seal 
ledges of the Bering Islands are called, about the first of 




Seals on beach, Alaska. 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 253 

June. The young males, known as bachelors, on arriving 
at the islands herd together on the outskirts of the rookeries. 
It is these young males that are killed for their skins. A 
day or two after the arrival of the females, the young seals 
or pups are born. A week or two later their mothers enter 
the neighboring waters in search of food for themselves, 
returning at intervals to nourish their young. The males 
remain on the islands until August, living on the fat they 
have accumulated during their winter stay at sea. Then 
they go to sea in search of food. The pups leave the 
rookeries about November. 

International Seal Agreements. — Since all nations may 
fish without restriction anywhere in the ocean beyond the 
three-mile limit, a large number of seals, many of them 
mothers, were killed and captured in the open seas. So 
many were killed at sea that the extinction of these animals 
was almost sure to occur. To prevent this, Russia, Japan, 
England, and the United States signed a treaty in 191 1 
which provides punishment for any one who kills seals in 
the deep waters of the Pacific north of the thirtieth parallel 
of latitude. They may be killed only on land, between 
December and April ; and no one is permitted to kill a 
female. By this treaty it is hoped that the number of 
seals will increase and that the Alaskan seal fisheries may 
be a permanent industry. 

Whaling. — Another profitable sea animal that lives in 
the cold northern waters is the whale. Many people 
erroneously think it is a fish. The gills, necessary for a 
wholly aquatic life, are wanting in the whale ; so it must 
come to the surface at regular intervals to get a fresh supply 
of air. Before the Civil War, whaling was an important 
American industry, because it yielded oil and whalebone, 



254 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



two products for which there were no substitutes. The 
whaling headquarters then were at New Bedford, Massa- 
chusetts, and most of the whales were caught off the coast 
of Greenland. Lately mineral and vegetable oils have 
been discovered which partly take the place of the animal 
oil. The whalebone has been partially replaced by cellu- 
loid, rubber, and other products. These changes, added to 
the scarcity of whales, have greatly reduced the extent of 
whaling. In the meantime the headquarters have shifted 
to San Francisco. Most of the right whales are caught in 




§-Jjg§ 




Cutting up a whale to obtain whalebone and oil, Newfoundland. 



FISHERIES OF THE UNITED STATES 255 

the Arctic Ocean, but sperm whales are captured in the 
Indian Ocean. 

After a whale is sighted, a harpoon is shot at it from 
the ship or launch. The dead monster is then fastened to 
the side of the vessel. The fat is removed from it and 
transferred to the ship, where from twenty to thirty thousand 
gallons of oil are rendered out of it. The horny, fringed 
sheets of whalebone ten feet long, attached to the upper 
jaw, are worth from three to four dollars a pound. The 
sperm whale has no whalebone but is valuable for its sperm 
oil, which is manufactured into candles and ointments. It 
also yields a fragrant substance, called ambergris, used in 
making perfumes. The teeth often serve as a substitute 
for ivory. 

By-products. — The chief use of fish and, indeed, most 
water animals is for food. But they yield many other valu- 
able by-products as well, which give rise to a number of re- 
lated occupations. For example, glue and fertilizers are 
manufactured from the skin, bones, and other refuse parts 
of fish. Fish glue is used in making court plasters, and on 
postage stamps. Cod liver oil is noted for its medicinal 
qualities. Isinglass is obtained from the swimming bladders 
of fish. 

Future Fish Supply. — Such large numbers of fish and 
other water animals have been taken from our streams, 
lakes, and coast waters that many of our fisheries are 
threatened with extinction. To repair the losses already 
sustained and to prevent still further depletion the national 
government and several of the states have created fish 
commissions, whose duty it is to increase the quantity 
and improve the quality of the fish supply of the United 
States. The United States Bureau of Fisheries makes 



256 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

careful studies of the habits and diseases of various species ; 
for example, salmon and oysters. The rivers, lakes, and 
coast waters are stocked with young fish. Men gather 
eggs from the spawning grounds, hatch them artificially, 
and take charge of the young until they can care for them- 
selves, at which time they are set free in the rivers and lakes. 
Fish eggs are sometimes imported from other countries so 
that new kinds may be developed here. 

Questions 

1. Which are more important, land or sea animals? 

2. The food of many land animals consists of vegetation. 
What furnishes the food for the millions of fish in the ocean ? 

3. On an outline map of the United States indicate the 
various important fishing districts. 

4. Prepare an exhibit of pictures of as many varieties of fish 
as possible. How do Alaskan salmon reach Chicago ? 

5. Describe one of your own fishing experiences. 

6. Ask your marketman where his fish came from. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES. 
THE METALS 

Classes of Mineral Products. — There are two classes of 
minerals, — metallic and nonmetallic. The first group in- 
cludes iron, gold, silver, copper, zanc, lead, quicksilver, 
and many others. The second group includes building 
stone, clay, coal, petroleum, and gas. 

Iron. — With the possible exception of coal, iron is our 
most valuable mineral. At present we are producing about 
one half of the world's annual iron output. Minnesota, ■ 
Michigan, Alabama, New York, and Wisconsin produce 
about nine tenths of the total iron output of the United 
States. 




^^> Iron ore deposits . 
The areas in solid black 
indicate mining regions. 



Iron ore regions of the United States. 

257 



2 5 8 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




An open iron mine, Minnesota. The steam shovel is scooping up the 
ore and placing it in cars. 

Lake Superior District. — The Lake Superior region is 
the greatest iron producer in the world. The iron lies so 
near the surface that it is mined with unusual ease and 
little cost. Since the close of the last century, mining ma- 
chinery has been so much improved that it has largely dis- 
placed hand labor and greatly reduced the expense of 
excavation and transportation. Enormous steam shovels 
scoop the reddish ore from the open pits of the mines into 
freight cars, which take it to near-by lake ports. Then it 
is carried in vessels to iron-manufacturing cities, like 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 



259 



Chicago, Gary, and Cleveland. From Cleveland and other 
Lake Erie ports much of the ore is shipped by railroad to 
Pittsburgh and other neighboring cities. The Superior 
field lacks coal, and therefore the iron ore is shipped by 
water to the great manufacturing cities near the coal 
fields. Millions of tons of raw iron, looking very much 
like ordinary soil, are received by the many smelting fur- 
naces every year. From the iron-smelting centers, vast 
quantities of pig iron, cast iron, wrought iron, and steel 
are sent out by rail and boat to Detroit, Buffalo, New 
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, 
and scores of other cities where these semi-raw products 
are manufactured into farming implements, printing 
presses, stoves, sewing machines, automobiles, locomotives, 
ships, wire, nails, pins, and hundreds of other articles. 




Molten iron pouring into the molds Breaking into bars the pig iron that 
of a pig iron machine. has solidified in the grooves in 

the sand. 

Leading Iron Cities. — Pittsburgh, in the heart of the 
richest coal field in the United States, carries on the greatest 
iron and steel business. Chicago and Gary, which lie near 



260 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



the Superior iron mines just north of them and the Illinois 
and Indiana coal mines just south, are the next in impor- 
tance. Birmingham, Alabama, is favorably located with 
reference to coal, iron, and limestone deposits ; hence it 
ranks third in this class of manufactures. It does such a 
large business in iron and steel that it has earned for itself 
the name, " Pittsburgh of the South." Colorado has large 
deposits of limestone, coal, and iron ; and Pueblo in that 
state is the leading city of the Western States in the manu- 
facture of iron and steel. 

Copper. — After iron, our most valuable metallic mineral 




© Detroit Publishing Co. 

Pouring copper into molds, Michigan. In front is a pile of ingots taken 
from the molds. 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 26 1 

is copper. Next to silver, copper is the best conductor of 
electricity ; and its chief use is for manufacturing electrical 
appliances. The marvelous increase in the uses of elec 
tricity has made a great demand for this metal. It is also 
used in the manufacture of boilers, and for roofing houses 
and sheathing the bottoms of ships. Copper mixed with 
tin makes bronze ; when mixed with zinc, it produces brass. 

Chile used to be the leader in the production of copper ; 
now the first place is held by the United States. We 
supply more than half of the world's annual output of this 
metal. For a long time the shores of Lake Superior in 
Michigan were the greatest copper region on the globe. 
The metal occurs there in almost a pure state. Another 
important copper section is the Butte district of Mon- 
tana ; but the greatest producer to-day is Arizona. A 
large part of our annual copper output goes to Europe, 
mainly to Netherlands, Germany, France, and Great 
Britain. Our rivals in copper production are Mexico, 
Spain, and Japan. 

Lead. — With the progress of industry and science, lead 
becomes more and more useful. It is employed in roofing 
houses, lining cisterns, making plumbing pipes, and for 
manufacturing metal type, shot, white lead, solder, and 
pewter ware. This metal is found in workable quantities 
in only four states : Missouri, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado. 
With the exception of the first, they are all in the Rocky 
Mountain section, where the lead is often found in lead- 
silver deposits. Our country produces more than any 
other nation, or a third of the world's annual supply of 
lead. 

Zinc. — Zinc is a hard mineral and is generally found 
with copper or lead. Its hardness, together with its power 



262 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

to resist the rusting effects of water, make it very useful for 
drain spouts and gutters of houses. Galvanized buckets 
are treated with a zinc solution and thus are able to render 
far more satisfactory service than tin buckets or even the 
old oaken buckets. Almost all the zinc of the world is 
produced by the United States, Germany, and Belgium. 
The United States yields about a third of the entire amount. 
Zinc mining is carried on in ten or twelve states, but Mis- 
souri leads them all. This state furnishes two thirds of 
the American product. 

Mercury. — The United States produces about a fourth 
of the mercury of the world. From California about 
eighty-five per cent of the output of the United States is 
obtained. Texas, Utah, Arizona, and Oregon supply the 
remainder. This metal is the only one that, under ordinary 
conditions, is a liquid. The liquid in thermometers and 
barometers is mercury. It is also used in making the 
backs of mirrors, in medicines and dentistry, and for ex- 
tracting gold and silver from their ores. 

Aluminum. — Within the last thirty years, aluminum 
has been added to our list of valuable metals. It had re- 
mained practically unknown for so long a time because it 
is difficult to separate from the other elements with which 
it is usually combined. By means of electricity this mineral 
now is easily released from its ore, called bauxite. It is 
particularly valuable on account of its light weight and 
rust-proof quality. Kitchen utensils, suit cases, artificial 
limbs, musical instruments, mailing tubes, chemical uten- 
sils, and camera cases are a few of the articles made of it. 
The United States produces about a fourth of the world's 
supply, and most of it comes from Arkansas, Georgia, 
Alabama, and Tennessee. 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 263 

Gold. — Because of its beauty and scarcity, gold is 
regarded as a precious metal. It is used chiefly for jewelry 
and money. Men are so anxious to possess gold that they 
will undergo the most trying hardships to secure it. Some 
very extensive migrations into new lands have been due 
to the quest for gold and other precious metals. 

Gold-producing Countries. — The leading countries in 
gold production are British South Africa, the United 
States, Australia, and Mexico. Our own country mines a 
little more than one fifth of the world's annual output. 
California, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, South Dakota, Utah, 
Montana, and Arizona are the chief gold-producing areas of 
the United States. 

Discovery of Gold in California. — In January 1848, a 
man named Marshall built a flour mill for Mr. Sutter, a 
pioneer settler near Sacramento, California. While dig- 
ging a mill-race, he found in the sand some bright, shining 
particles which proved to be gold. This discovery caused 
great excitement. The gold fever spread rapidly over the 
country. Men rushed from all parts of the world — from 
New England, Mexico, China, France, Germany, Italy, 
and Russia — to California. There were no transcon- 
tinental railroads in those days, so thousands of men 
from the eastern part of the United States crossed the 
western plains, deserts, and mountains in canvas-covered 
wagons to the California gold fields. Others went by ship 
to the Isthmus of Panama, crossed the narrow strip of land, 
and then took ship again for San Francisco. Still others 
went in ships around Cape Horn to reach California. 

The gold region was public land belonging to the Govern- 
ment. Each prospector, soon after his arrival, filled a pan 
with gravel from the river, shook and whirled it under the 



264 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



water until only small specks of gold remained. If he was 
satisfied with the result he applied for a claim of- the river 
front on the spot where he had made his test. The lucky 
prospectors made very large wages. Ordinary miners re- 
ceived $16 a day. The very lucky ones netted as much as 
$1000 and even $5000 a day. Fabulous prices were paid 

for food and clothing. 
Hotel accommoda- 
tions were scant. 
People lived in log 
cabins, shanties, and 
tents. Board and all 
living expenses were 
incredibly high — 
flour $1 a pound, 
bacon $1.60 a pound, 
candles $1 each, a 
pair of boots $100. 
Letters could not be 
mailed in the modern 
sense of the word, 
but they were ex- 
pressed at $2, $3, and 
$4 each. 

As more and more 
gold was found, pan- washing became too slow, and the 
rocker came into use. The rocker had a flat bottom, two 
side boards and a head board with a hopper at the upper 
end ; the head of this contrivance was several inches higher 
than the foot. Earth and water were thrown into the 
hopper ; the gold and fine gravel fell through the screen of 
the hopper to the bottom- of the rocker, while the coarse 




Gold washing, California. 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 265 

rocks rolled off from above. The machine was kept in 
constant motion. At the lower end was a riffle about an 
inch and a lialf high which caught the gold particles 
as the finer gravel and clay were washed down by the 
water. Later the rocker gave way to the " long torn," 
which consisted of a trough or sluiceway of boards with 
sides ten inches high. The water thrown into the sluice- 
way on the earth carried the latter down the gently slant- 
ing bottom board, which was supplied with riffles that 
caught and held the particles of gold, while the gravel 
washed away. This produced results more quickly than 
the rocker. 

In time, canals were built from the rivers to the great 
gold-bearing hills some distance away. By means of pipes, 
large streams of water were played against the soil and 
gravel, forcing it into ditches or sluices. The gold settled 
at the bottom, while the clay and sand rolled away. This 
method is called hydraulic mining. While it is rather 
expensive because dams and flumes must be built and 
water mains must be laid, one man can accomplish as 
much by this method as thirty-five diggers. 

Dredging for Gold. — The beds and deltas of many 
rivers are rich in gold. This is obtained by means of 
dredges. A gold dredge is a slow boat with an endless 
chain of buckets that scoop up the earth from beneath 
the water, removing thousands of cubic yards of earth in a 
day. As each bucket reaches the top of the dredge, its 
contents are dropped into a hopper. The mass rolls down 
a revolving screen, and water is constantly played upon 
the screen, so that the soft earth and particles of gold 
escape through the screen and flow over the riffle boards 
below. The riffles hold back the gold. The stones are 



266 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

carried to the end of the screen and are thrown off in some- 
what the same way as the wheat straw is carried from the 
threshing machine by the straw stacker. Thus great heaps 
of rocks and soil are taken from the earth and piled in 
hills. These pyramids of dredged earth are now removed 
by crushing the rocks and using them for roads, railroad 
ballast, and concrete. The remaining soil is then leveled 
and the tracts are converted into farm lands. 




A gold dredge. 

Gold from Solid Rocks. — After considerable mining 
had been done along the rivers, men found that there were 
veins of solid rock rich in gold, deep down in the earth. To 
get this is more difficult and costly than hydraulic mining ; 
for deep shafts must be sunk, and hoisting engines, mining 
tools, and blasting materials secured. The solid rock is 
crushed in stamp mills and then by various means the 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 267 

gold is separated from the fine particles of rock. Such 
mining can be done only by companies with large sums of 
money. 

The result of the California gold fever was the rapid 
settling and building up of the West. Mine after mine of 
gold, silver, copper, and lead was discovered in California, 
Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado ; in fact, all 
through the Pacific and Rocky Mountain section, until 
to-day this is one of the richest and most promising parts 
of the United States. Roads were built across the moun- 
tains, over which thousands of people traveled in search of 
new opportunities. The Pacific Railroad ready for use in 
1869 was the first of a number of steam highways that 
promoted a stream of westward migration which has not 
yet come to its end. Soon resources other than minerals 
attracted strong, daring young men and women from the 
East. Agriculture, fruit growing, stock raising, and lum- 
bering brought in as much wealth as the gold. Scores of 
prominent cities sprang into existence, among them Sacra- 
mento, San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Portland, 
Seattle, Tacoma, Salt Lake City, Spokane, and Denver. 

Gold in Alaska. — In 1898 there was a new gold excite- 
ment. Bright yellow particles of gold had been discovered 
in the sands of the Klondike and other tributaries of the 
Yukon River. Then the cry was, " On to Klondike," and 
there was a mad rush to the Arctic region near the bound- 
ary of Canada and Alaska. The gold seekers took a steamer 
at Seattle and sailed 1200 miles along the Canadian shore 
to Skagway in southern Alaska. There the adventurers 
began a long wearisome tramp northward over the Dead 
Horse Trail, so named because many prospectors lost their 
horses here through exhaustion. By and by the men 




268 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 269 

reached the upper waters of the Yukon , glad to take boats 
and thus be relieved of carrying heavy burdens over rough 
paths. But even a sadder fate awaited them here ; for 
some of the boats were stranded in the rapids of the river. 
Many lost their goods and not a few were drowned. But 
the more sturdy and fortunate ones finally reached Dawson, 
Canada, in the midst of the gold district lying in Canada 
and Alaska. 

At first the miners washed the gold-bearing sands lying at 
the surface. Later, when much of the loose surface earth 
had been sifted, they searched underground for hidden 
treasures. They often found gold deposits several feet 
below the surface. In o'rder to get the gold in the winter 
season the earth had to be thawed out with fires before the 
mining operations could be carried on. A few men were 
fortunate enough to wash out hundreds of dollars' worth 
of gold daily ; but for the majority it meant most trying 
hardships and privations with no unusual returns ; and in 
some cases disappointment was the only reward. As in the 
case of California, the railroad soon followed the path of 
the gold hunters ; so now the entire trip from our western 
coast can be comfortably made in steamers and by rail. 

Gold at Nome. — In the midst of the Klondike excite- 
ment, gold was discovered on the beach of Cape Nome, 
which lies on the west coast of Alaska near the entrance to 
Bering Strait. At once, hundreds of Klondikers packed 
their goods and in all possible haste sailed down the Yukon 
River and across Norton Sound to Nome, a small Eskimo 
village. This was even a richer field than the one they had 
left behind. Within a few days Nome had a population 
of 2000 men. Very shortly after the arrival of the miners, 
hotels, stores, banks, telegraphs, telephones, electric lights, 



270 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



railroads, and schools came into existence, like mush- 
rooms. While the sands along the beach yielded rich 
returns, Nome was a thriving city. In recent years it 
has declined in importance. 







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A mining camp, Alaska. 

Much as gold is prized, it is only dead matter, which in 
itself cannot contribute one iota to human comfort. The 
lucky finders had to have purchasers for their yellow metal. 
So they took it to the United States assay office which had 
been put up in Seattle by the Government. This office 
has bought many millions of dollars' worth of Alaskan 
gold dust and has sent it to the mints to be coined. Gold 
is the third resource which has made Alaska profitable to 
the United States. 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 27 1 

Other Resources in Alaska. — While gold lured men 
north, it is not the resource that holds them and builds up 




A field of potatoes, Alaska. 

the region. Furs and gold attract a floating population ; 
agriculture builds up a permanent community. Formerly 
Alaska was known as a cold, barren place from which men 
had best keep away. Since the discovery of gold, it has 
been found that the climate is as good as that of Norway 
and Sweden. While the winters are severe in the interior, 
the summers are warm and well adapted in certain parts 
to the raising of grains, vegetables, and grass. Valuable 
forests are found in the southern half of the peninsula. 
The excellent pastures make stock-raising possible, es- 
pecially of the reindeer, cattle, and sheep. Besides the gold, 
rich copper deposits and valuable coal beds have been dis- 
covered. Manufactures have at least made a start, and a 
few railroads have been built. 



272 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Our Gold-producing Districts. — The greatest gold fields 
in the country to-day are in Colorado. Cripple Creek, 
Leadville, and Denver are especially rich in silver and gold 
deposits. California is the second in the production of 
gold at present, closely rivaled by Alaska. There are four 
mints in the United States where gold is melted, stamped, 
and milled into coin ; namely Philadelphia, New Orleans, 
Denver, and San Francisco. 

Silver. — While gold is the best mineral for setting a 
standard of values, silver is a better metal for the making 
of coins, because of its greater hardness. Moreover, it is 
found in much larger quantities than the yellow metal. 
The world's output of silver is ten times as great as that 
of gold per year. In the last fifty years silver mining has 




Silver-lead mills, Idaho. 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 273 

steadily increased in our country. The chief silver-pro- 
ducing countries are Mexico, United States, and Canada. 
In the United States, Nevada, Utah, Montana, Idaho, 
Colorado, and Arizona lead in the production of silver. 
Much of the gold ore also contains silver and thus these 
two metals may be the product of one kind of ore. Large 
quantities of silver are present in copper ores, hence in 
copper mining, silver is an important by-product. 

Questions 

1. What properties make iron the most useful mineral? 

2. What is the relation between iron and commerce ? Iron 
and farming ? 

3. Write out a list of articles that are wholly 'or partly 
made of iron or steel. 

4. Name the great steel centers and account for their de- 
velopment. 

5. Collect specimens of pig iron, cast iron, wrought iron, 
steel, lead, zinc, copper, brass. 

6. Sketch a map of the Great Lakes and the adjoining 
states of 'Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, 
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Show routes over which 
iron ore passes; ports at which it is unloaded and converted 
into useful articles. 

7. Why are so many blast furnaces and steel mills far re- 
moved from the iron mines ? 

8. What is the most valuable resource of Alaska ? Of 
California ? 

9. Sketch a map of Alaska, and the Yukon River. On it 
indicate the Nome and Klondike gold districts. 

10. What effect would a total lack of gold and silver have 
upon our industries ? A lack of copper ? 



CHAPTER XIX 

MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES. 
NONMETALLIC MINERALS 

Coal, the Basis of Successful Industry. — No country at 
the present time ranks high in industry that does not have 
an abundant coal supply. The three leading modern in- 
dustrial nations lead in the production of coal as well 
as of iron. They produce four times as much coal as all 
the rest of the nations together. Of the world's output in 
1910 the -United States produced 39 per cent, Great Britain 
23 per cent, and Germany 18 per cent. 

Coal Fields of the United States. — In general there are 
two kinds of coal — anthracite or hard coal, and bitumi- 
nous or soft coal. While, so far as is known, this country 




Distribution of mineral fuels in the United States. 
274 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 275 




Digging into a seam of coal at the face of a cliff, Pennsylvania. 

has the largest single anthracite coal field in the world, it 
is only half the size of Delaware. It lies in eastern Penn- 
sylvania. Besides this there are very small areas of it in 
Colorado and New Mexico. The bituminous fields are 
well scattered over the United States. No less than thirty 
states produce coal. The two leading sections are the 
Appalachian region and the eastern interior field lying in 
Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The leading coal states, 
in order of importance, are Pennsylvania, West Virginia, 
Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Colorado, 
Iowa, and Wyoming. 



276 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Work in the Mines. — Work in the mines is all very 
hard, whether it be the opening of the shaft or tunnel in a 
new mine, the blasting of a wall of coal, the propping of 
the ceiling with heavy beams, the loading of the cars, or 
the breaking up of the hard anthracite lumps. It is 
doubly difficult when the miner has to work on hands and 
knees in a thin vein ; or work while lying on his back. 
Sometimes the mine is damp from water that has run into 
it. The dangers in coal mining are serious. The miners 
may suffocate from mine gases ; or they may be crushed 

by the caving in of 
the roof; or be 
drowned by an un- 
expected break of a 
wall that lets in a 
flood of water ; or an 
explosion may dash 
them to pieces ; or a 
fire may break out 
and burn them to 
Drilling into a layer of coal. death. Formerly 

little attention was paid to mine accidents ; but as people 
have become more thoughtful of one another's welfare, 
laws have been passed to protect miners, and the number 
of accidents has decreased. 

Inspection and Transportation of Coal. — When coal is 
ready for the market, before it leaves the mine it is in- 
spected by government officers whose duty it is to see 
that it has been properly cleaned of slate and other foreign 
matter. More than a million people in our country are 
employed in handling coal. Bituminous coal, as it leaves 
the mine, is run down inclined railroads and discharged 




MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 



277 



into waiting cars or barges. Freight boats, filled with 
this fuel, may be seen gliding over the waters of the Ohio, 
the Mississippi, and the Great Lakes. Railway companies 
that carry the coal overland, have as many as 70,000 cars 
devoted entirely to coal shipments. 

By-products of Coal. — Only recently has man learned 
to secure many valuable by-products from vast quantities 
of material that in the past was thrown out as waste at 
the mouth of the mines. All the fine dust and slack which 
were formerly thrown away are now used in firing boilers 
or are burned in specially constructed grates. Coke is also 




Interior of a gas plant. 



manufactured from it. Illuminating gas is secured by dis- 
tillation from coal, after which it is passed through water 
and slacked lime. When steam is passed over red hot 
coke a fuel known as water gas is the result. Coal tar, 



278 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

which is a by-product of coke manufacture, used to be 
considered worse than waste, because the men did not 
know how to get rid of it except to throw it into streams ; 
and there it was a nuisance. Nowadays scores of valuable 
articles are made from it; such as ammonia, benzine, 
saccharin, dyes, red ink, disinfectant oils, carbolic acid, 
explosives, insecticides, photographic developers, creosote 
for preserving meat and wood, lubricating oils, pitch for- 
tar paper and tar felt, and lamp black. It is coal, too, 
that produces part of the mineral oil that replaces whale 
oil and thus supplements our fishery products. 

Waste in the Mining of Coal. — Probably the fact that 
our coal supply seemed inexhaustible has led us to be very 
wasteful. It has been estimated that up to 1883, for every 
ton of coal that was marketed a ton and a half were lost 
at the mine ; since that date one ton has been wasted for 
every ton used. Sometimes thin layers of coal are inter- 
spersed with layers of shale. Such beds have been left 
because it was too much trouble to handle the shale. As a 
rule in the past any stratum of coal less than three feet 
thick has not been mined. Of course that means an enor- 
mous waste. Sometimes when several veins occur in the 
• same place, the lower ones are worked first ; then those 
above cave in and are so crushed that it is impossible to 
extract the coal of the higher seams from the debris. Ex- 
plosives used to loosen the coal crumble a large quantity of 
it and cause great loss thereby. 

Waste of Coal in Factories and Power Houses. — If the 
coal in the furnaces of our factories, stores, and large public 
buildings were properly burned there would be little or no 
smoke. The smoke is unburned coal. In the form of soot 
and smoke we are driving about 20 per cent of the fuel 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 



279 



that is thrown into the furnace out through the chimney 
without the least return to us. On the contrary there is 
great injury to our health. Many American families, per- 
haps all those using coal, are wasting some by overfeeding 
the stoves and furnaces, heating more rooms daily than are 
in use. 

Waste of Coal in the Manufacture of Coke. — In the 
United States a large amount of coal is wasted in the 




Coke ovens, West Virginia. 

thousands of poorly constructed ovens in which coke is 
manufactured. Other countries, such as Germany, manu- 
facture their coke in ovens that not only increase the 
quantity and improve the quality of the coke, but yield 
ammonia, tar, and gas as by-products. If all our ovens 
were of this modern type, millions of dollars would be saved 
annually. 



280 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Government Coal Lands. — Early in the history of our 
country, the government sold public lands for little or 
nothing, irrespective of whether it was farming or coal- 
bearing land. The loose laws made it possible for groups 
of individuals, forming a corporation, to acquire immense 
areas of coal fields at a trifling cost. This put a great 
resource into the hands of private owners at ridiculously 
low prices. To-day the government is classifying the 
public lands as agricultural and coal bearing. This work 
is being done by the United States Geological Survey. As 
the task requires several years, large tracts of public land 
are withdrawn from settlement or sale, until the Geological 
Survey can classify them and give some definite informa- 
tion as to their true value. When that is done, the coal 
lands are sold at prices more nearly proportional to the 
worth of the coal. 

Government Ownership of Coal Lands. — It has long 
been suggested that coal lands should be held by the 
United States government, and leased to private concerns 
at a specified royalty. By this method the government 
revenue would be increased, and the coal supply would 
probably last longer. In 191 2 the government tried for 
the first time the plan of leasing a coal mine instead of 
selling it. A mine of 2480 acres in Wyoming was leased 
for ten years to a private company at the rate of six and a 
half cents a ton on all coal mined during the first five years, 
and eight cents a ton for the remaining time of the lease. 
In order to promote the safety of the miner and prevent 
the waste of coal this mine must be operated according to 
rules prescribed by the Bureau of Mines at Washington. 
This is an experiment whose purpose it is to make coal 
mining in America as safe as it is in Europe. 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 



251 




Oil wells. 



Petroleum. — Petroleum, or coal oil, has been used 
only a few decades. But to-day the world produces several 
hundred million barrels of it annually. Three fifths of it is 
obtained from the United States. Russia is our rival, 
producing half as much as we do. Petroleum occurs in 
porous rock or in pockets in the earth, from which it is 
pumped out. Kerosene, used for light, was the first 
product derived from petroleum ; but recently many 
other profitable products have been extracted from 
this mineral. Gasoline, naphtha, benzine, paraffin, and 
vaseline are made from it. A large amount of crude 
petroleum is used as fuel in locomotives in some parts 
of the country. 

Petroleum Districts in the United States. — The United 
States has six large petroleum districts: (i) Appalachian; 
(2) Ohio-Indiana ; (3) Illinois ; (4) Mid-Continent, which 



282 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



includes Kansas, Oklahoma, and northern Texas; (5) Gulf, 
which consists of Texas and Louisiana ; and (6) California. 
In the quantity of petroleum produced, Oklahoma is the 
leading state. For many years after its use had become 
known, petroleum had only a local market. This was due 
to the difficulty of shipping a combustible liquid. Now pipe 
lines, hundreds of miles long, carry the oil from the field 

to distant ports and 
markets. In . addi- 
tion, the recent im- 
pr o vemen ts in 
methods of trans- 
portation have given 
oil a world-wide 
market. American 
petroleum is sold 
in many foreign 
countries. 

The supply of oil 
in the areas east of 
the Mississippi River is declining. It is only a question 
of time when all petroleum territory will cease to yield. 
To prolong the period of supply, we must learn to be 
economical in its use for fuel, light, and lubricants. If 
the United States wishes to insure large oil supplies to 
future generations, she must restrict the present exporta- 
tion to foreign countries. Finally perhaps public oil lands 
should be leased rather than sold to private corporations. 
Natural Gas. — This fuel is frequently found with petro- 
leum. It has been in use even a shorter time than the oil, 
because at first people considered it a misfortune to find 
it present in the oil wells. In 1874 a Pittsburgh iron mill 




Oil tanks. 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 



283 



made the first industrial use of gas in this country. Due 
to the enormous waste and extensive use in manufacture 
and domestic heating, many of the gas fields are almost 
exhausted. At present the leading gas states are Penn- 
sylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, and 
Indiana. 

Clay, Sand, and Stone. — Clay, from which brick, tile, 
and pottery are made ; and sand, used in the manufacture 
of glass, mortar, and concrete, are two of our most valuable 
nonmetallic minerals. The United States has almost 
every variety of these products in inexhaustible quantities. 
These minerals owe their importance to the great demand 
for them by the building trades. We are fortunate in 
having every state well supplied. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and 
New Jersey are noted for the fine quality of their clays. 

In rock, such as granite, marble, sandstone, and lime- 
stone, this country is very rich. All are used for building 




A clay mine. 



284 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




A marble quarry. 

purposes. Marble is especially adapted to ornamental and 
monumental work ; the hard granite makes excellent pav- 
ing blocks and curbstones ; sandstone is used in the con- 
struction of fine buildings ; and limestone is used to make 
roadways, railroad ballast, and lime . Manufactured cement 
consists of three parts of lime and one part of clay. The 
best limestone is found in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, 
and New York ; excellent granite comes from Massachu- 
setts, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and 
California ; Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio lead in 



MINERAL WEALTH OF THE UNITED STATES 285 

sandstone ; Vermont, Georgia, and Tennessee excel in 
marble. 

Mineral Fertilizers. — There are rich deposits of phos- 
phates in South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, 
and Kentucky. While workable deposits of potash and 
nitrate salts have not yet been found, scientists are search- 
ing for them in the deserts. If such minerals are found 
the United States will no longer be compelled to import 
potash salts from Germany and nitrate from Chile. 

Conclusion. — Iron and coal are the most useful minerals. 
Iron or steel is used in the construction of buildings, 
bridges, railroads, ships, engines, cars, and thousands of 
other things that require a material of great strength and 
hardness. Coal is the mineral that enables us to defy the 
cold of winter, and furnishes the power that turns the 
wheels of factories, draws railroad trains across continents, 
and propels ships around the world. The United States, 
Great Britain, and Germany, leading in the production 
of these two minerals, are the foremost nations in manu- 
facturing and commerce. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Why is manufacturing a prominent occupation in coal 
regions? Why is not the coal carried to the iron deposits? 

2. Why do nations with large coal deposits lead the world in 
industry and commerce? 

3. If convenient, visit a mine, a coke oven, an oil well, a 
pottery, a quarry, or a tile factory. 

4. What difference would it have made in the industrial de- 
velopment of our country if the Appalachian Mountains con- 
tained only gold and silver, and the Rockies were rich in iron 
and coal ? 



CHAPTER XX 
INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 

Growth of Manufacturing in the United States. — In 

the early history of our country there was very little manu- 
facturing. Most of the manufactured articles, such as 
clothing and tools, required in the daily life of the common 
people, were made in their homes. The rich imported fine 
clothing and articles of luxury from Europe. Until the 
middle of the nineteenth century our manufactures were 
unimportant. But by the close of that century the manu- 
facturing spirit had taken hold of Americans. The disas- 
trous results of the Civil War had been largely overcome 
by 1880. The population was increasing very fast, and 
the West was being opened up. These conditions increased 
the demand and stimulated the factories to extend their 
output. To-day the United States is the leading manu- 
facturing nation of the world. 

Variety of Manufactures. — Our manufacturing indus- 
tries may be roughly divided into fourteen groups or 
classes of articles : food products ; textiles ; iron and steel ; 
lumber and its manufactures ; leather and its products ; 
paper and printing ; liquors and other beverages ; chemi- 
cals ; clay, glass, and stone products ; metals, other than 
iron and steel ; tobacco ; vehicles for transportation ; 
shipbuilding ; and miscellaneous industries. 

These occupations are scattered over the United States, 
but the great manufacturing district is in the northeast. 
New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Massachusetts are 

286 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 287 




■d 



u 

1 
■a 



3 



288 ' THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

the four leading manufacturing states. The states east 
of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio River and the 
Mason and Dixon line employ three fourths of the factory 
hands of the country and produce three fourths of the 
value of the products. 

Food Products. — The value of food products is greater 
than that of any other class of manufactures. Agriculture 
is the chief source of raw materials for the manufacture of 
food. Farm animals furnish nearly all of the meat 
products. Dairy cattle yield dairy products. Our grain 
crops supply flour and other cereal foods. Vegetables 
and fruits are the raw materials of the canning and preserv- 
ing industry. Meat packing is the most important of the 
food-manufacturing industries. This industry is centered 
mainly in Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, Indianapolis, 
St. Louis, St. Joseph, and Cincinnati. In the East, Buffalo 
and New York are important centers of meat packing. 
Fifty years ago nearly all the butter and cheese was made on 
the farm ; to-day creameries, cheese factories, and con- 
denseries have transferred the greater part of the manu- 
facture of dairy products from the country to the city. 
The greatest dairy interests are in the^Middle Atlantic and 
North Central States, which produce two thirds of this 
class of foods. Wisconsin and New York are the two 
leading dairying states. The North Central States which 
lie in the grain belt have the largest flour-milling industry : 
Minneapolis, near the great wheat region and with fine 
water power at hand, has become the world's great milling 
center. New York, Buffalo, Milwaukee, and Kansas 
City also rank high in flour milling. 

The manufacture of sugar from sugar cane and sugar 
beets is an important industry. Raw sugar is manufactured 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 289 

in the cane-growing sections and then is shipped to refineries 
in large seaports and made into refined sugar. Much raw 
sugar from Cuba and Hawaii is shipped to these refineries. 
The beet sugar ready for use is made in factories located 
in the beet-growing districts. Canned vegetables and 
fruits, canned oysters and fish, smoked and dried fish, 
pickles, dried fruits, preserves and jellies are some of the 
leading foods that are supplied by the canning and preserv- 
ing industry. California leads in fruit canning ; Maryland 
in tomatoes; Wisconsin and New York in peas; Illinois 
and Maine in corn ; New York, New Jersey, and Maryland 
in sealed oysters ; and Washington in canned salmon. 

Textiles. — Clothing ranks second in importance and third 
in value among the necessities of life. More people earn a 
living by manufacturing cotton cloth, hosiery and knit goods, 
carpets and rugs, oil cloth and linoleum, silk and silk goods, 
woolen and worsted goods than by any other class of articles. 




Textile school, Lowell, Massachusetts. 



290 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



The moist climate and the abundant water power 
furnished by the rapid rivers have helped to give New 
England the first rank in cotton manufacture, with Massa- 
chusetts leading all the states. Recently the Southern 
States have built cotton mills, which are doing a flourishing 







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A large cotton mill. 



business. With coal and iron in the heart of the South, 
with a large amount of water power, and cotton growing 
in almost every part, in time there will probably be as 
great textile manufacturing centers in the South as the 
New England cities of Boston, Manchester, and Fall River. 
The Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama may even surpass 
Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

The woolen manufactures of the United States include 
worsted and woolen goods, hosiery, knit goods, and carpets. 
Foreign lands with extensive grazing areas, such as Argen- 
tina, South Africa, and Australia, supply much wool for 
our mills, which are yearly increasing their output of 
merinos, broadcloth, cashmeres, serges, and woolen yarns. 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 291 



These are made into men's and 
women's woolen suitings, under- 
wear flannels, knit shawls, blank- 
ets, and carriage robes. Much 
wool is used in making mixed 
cloths of cotton and wool, or silk 
and wool. The woolen factories, 
like those of cotton, are thickly 
clustered in the Northeastern 
States, including all of New Eng- 
land and the two adjoining states \Jpl 
of New York and Pennsylvania. Primitive spinning. 

The leading clothing manufacturing centers are New 
York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Cincinnati, Boston, and 





Carpet looms. 



292 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Baltimore. The United States takes high rank in the 
manufacture of carpets and rugs. Cohoes, New York, 
is a great center for the manufacture of underwear. Troy 
is noted for the manufacture of collars and cuffs, and 
Philadelphia is the largest manufacturer of hosiery. 

Silk Manufactures. — As early as 1624 attempts were 
made to introduce the industry of raising silkworms into 
Virginia. Since then, many efforts have been made in 
various parts of the country, sometimes with the aid of 
government bounties, to start silk raising in this country, 
but with slight success. Failure has been due largely to 
the tedious hand labor required, and the high wages 
demanded in America. We cannot compete with Europe 
and Asia where labor is cheaper than in our own country. 
Although the raising of silk has resulted in failure in this 
country, the manufacture of silk goods has been so success- 
ful that the United States 
to-day is the second silk- 
manufacturing country 
in the world, surpassed 
by China only. We 
manufacture more than 
France, Italy, and Swit- 
zerland combined. The 
greatest number of 
American silk factories 
are in Pennsylvania, 
New Jersey, New York, 
and Connecticut, but 

Silkworms feeding. there are f acto ries in 

many other states, especially in the South and West. The 
story of silk manufacture is a long one. Even after a piece 




INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 293 

of goods has been woven, it must be treated and handled 
from fifty to one hundred times before it is ready for the 
consumer. 




A silk mill. 



Iron and Steel Products. — The United States leads 
the world in the manufacture of iron and steel. About 
90 per cent of the iron and steel industry is carried on in 
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, and Alabama. Pittsburgh, 
Cleveland, Chicago, and Birmingham are the chief centers 
in these states. New York City, St. Louis, Gary, and 
Buffalo also are noted for their iron industries. The greatest 
iron and steel city is Pittsburgh. 

A large number of industries use iron and steel in the 
manufacture of important products. Some of these prod- 
ucts are metal-working machinery, structural iron and 
steel used in bridges and buildings, locomotives, rails, 
plows, seeders, harvesting machines, windmills, printing 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Running molten iron from the blast furnaces into ladles which transport 
it to the steel mills where it is made into steel. 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 295 



presses, sewing machines, typewriters, safes, tools, hard- 
ware, wire, and cutlery. These are only a few of the uses 
of iron in modern life. 

The United States has some of the largest shipbuilding 
plants in the world and in these much steel is used. Some 
of them are at Philadelphia, Baltimore, Bath, and San 
Francisco ; there are many locomotive factories in Phila- 
delphia, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Providence, and Paterson. 
American engines 
are sent to England, 
France, Scandinavia, 
Siberia, and other 
countries . Farming 
implements are ex- 
ported to Argentina, 
Australia, Canada, 
and Europe. 

Products of Metal 
other than Iron and 
Steel. — Many in- 
dustries utilize 
metals other than 
iron and steel. They 

have mostly to do Pouring molten steel into ingot molds. 

with the smelting and refining of lead, zinc, and copper ; 
the refining of gold and silver; the making of brass, the 
rolling of copper ; and many secondary occupations, such 
as manufacturing silver and brass ware, and watches and 
jewelry. Copper products are the most valuable, because 
this metal plays a prominent part in the modern uses of 
electricity. 

Wood and its Manufactures. — A large number of in- 



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296 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




) Underwood & Underwood. 

Furniture factory, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 



dustries of the United States depend upon the timber camp 
and lumber mill. The rough lumber, after it leaves the 
forest, is worked over into furniture, houses, boxes, wagons, 
agricultural implements, and ships. Leading furniture 
cities are New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Grand 
Rapids. A large quantity of wood is converted into wood 
pulp, which is used in the manufacture of paper. Perhaps 
the people of no other country read as many papers, maga- 
zines, and books as those of the United States, therefore 
printing and publishing make a very heavy drain upon wood 
pulp and paper. Most of the products of paper making 
and printing come from New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, 
Massachusetts, Ohio, and Missouri. 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 297 

Chemicals and Similar Products. — Chemicals are im- 
portant products of American manufacture. Some of 
the leading chemicals and allied products are petroleum, 
gasoline, coke, artificial gas, paints, turpentine and rosin, 
gunpowder and other explosives, acids, dyestuffs, starch, 
soap, wood alcohol, and drugs and medicines. Most of 
the products of this industry are manufactured in Pennsyl- 
vania, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, and Illinois. 

Leather and its Products. — Several branches of industry 
receive their raw materials from tanneries in which hides 
and skins are tanned and made into leather. The United 
States turns most of its leather into shoes, in the manu- 
facture of which she ranks higher than any other country. 
The New England States make more than half of our boots 
and shoes. Massachusetts outstrips all others in this 
business ; but the Western States are coming into promi- 





od & Underwood. 



A shoe factory. 



298 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

nence. Lynn and Brockton in Massachusetts are the great- 
est shoe-manufacturing centers, while New York, Phila- 
delphia, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis have many 
shoe factories. 

Clay, Glass, and Stone Products. — Our enormous in- 
crease in population and industries requires the erection 
of a very large number of buildings. The demand for 
fireproof structures and the scarcity of lumber, due to 
the disappearance of the forests, are leading to the exten- 
sive use of clay, glass, and stone products. Most of our 
new buildings are made of brick, concrete, or stone. Con- 
crete, which is so largely used to-day in construction, is 
an artificial rock made of gravel or crushed stone, sand, 
and cement. 

Bricks, drainage tiles, sewer pipes, terra cotta, and 
pottery are the chief products made of clay. Ohio, Penn- 
sylvania, New Jersey, and New York lead in the manu- 
facture of our clay products. Most of the fine pottery 
used in this country is imported. In the manufacture of 
glass, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio are the leading 
states. It is hard to realize how much glass and clay prod- 
ucts contribute to our daily welfare. It will prove in- 
teresting to make a list of all the articles you can name that 
are made of glass or clay. 

Ships and Vehicles. — The transportation over land and 
across seas of the many articles required in modern life 
gives rise to more than a dozen manufacturing industries. 
They include the making of carriages and wagons ; sleighs 
and sleds ; baggage, express, and refrigerator cars ; pas- 
senger cars, sleepers, and diners ; electric street railway 
cars ; bicycles, tricycles, and automobiles ; and finally 
river craft, and ships of many kinds. 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 299 



The development of the gas engine in the last two decades 
has brought us many new transportation conveniences. 
From petroleum, gasoline is distilled. This liquid has to 
a great extent taken the place of steam power and com- 
pletely changed our transportation vehicles in the twentieth 
century. The gasoline engine has given us automobiles, 
motor cycles, motor boats, and aeroplanes. 

The first automobile show in America was held in 1900 
in New York. In 1901 the first transcontinental automo- 
bile trip was made. In the same year the motor cycle was 
brought out. The 
motor boat too 
appeared; but was 
looked upon as a 
doubtful and dan- 
gerous addition to 
our water craft. At 
that time the gen- 
eral public did not 
believe possible a 
machine that could A motor truck, 

fly successfully through the air. Now our waters are rip- 
pled by numerous motor boats, and men travel through 
the air, many thousand feet high, on voyages hun- 
dreds of miles long, in aeroplanes propelled by gasoline 
engines. 

For several years after the automobile appeared, it was 
looked upon merely as a pleasure device for the rich ; 
but now it is used more and more for commercial purposes. 
The large trucks of express companies and department 
stores carry six-horse loads with greater speed than would 
be possible for animals. Many truck farmers use motor 




3<X> THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

trucks to carry their produce to the cities. Auto-ambu- 
lances are used to render quick service to the sick and in- 
jured. Heavy gasoline-driven trucks, 40-60 horse power, 
are used by fire departments. 

The motor cycle can carry from 300 to 500 pounds of 
freight, and so is helpful in delivering parcels. Being 
smaller, it can go where automobiles cannot. It has stood 
the test of riding uninjured over many miles of railroad ties ; 
and of finding its way through bad roads. It is said to be 
the fastest vehicle on wheels in existence. There is a 
large demand for it in business circles. The motor cycle 
is useful to policemen, letter carriers, messengers, collectors, 
inspectors, country doctors, and traveling salesmen. It 
is of great value to the small poultry raiser and the truck 
farmer. For marketing their goods, it is cheaper than the 
horse. No wonder that motor cycle factories are enlarging 
their plants to meet the ever increasing calls for this vehicle. 

Alcohol Motors. — The sources of gasoline are coal and 
petroleum. As long as the earth supplies these, gasoline 
will be an important fuel and source of motor power. But 
already men are thinking about what must be done when 
the black diamond and the mineral oilare exhausted. One 
solution of that problem lies in the manufacture of alcohol 
from potatoes and other plants that contain a large amount 
of starch or sugar. The alcohol thus obtained can be used 
in place of gasoline in engines. In the future alcohol for 
motors may be profitably manufactured by the fermenta- 
tion of the sugar in the waste products of the cane-sugar 
and . beet-sugar factories and from potato culls and other 
starchy plants. The starch in such plants must first be 
converted into sugar which is then fermented for the pro- 
duction of alcohol. 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 301 



Manufacturing by Electricity. — The greatest of all 
miracles of twentieth-century manufacturing is the de- 
velopment of electrical industries. Thousands of American 
factories have changed from steam to the magical electric 
current generated by the falls and rapids of rivers. This 
mysterious harnessing cf rivers to the service of man is 
producing wonderful 
results. Much of 
the energy of Ni- 
agara Falls has been 
converted into elec- 
tricity, which, car- 
ried by wires, serves 
as power in Buffalo 
and in cities a long 
distance away. 
Electric power used 
in Syracuse comes 
from Niagara Falls, 
165 miles away. 
Buffalo, industrially 
great as it was be- 
fore, is many times 
greater since the 
Falls have been har- 
nessed. By means 
of electricity gener- 
ated by them, southern rivers make possible many busy 
mills in the land of Dixie, where the cotton grows. A 
large amount of power used in Los Angeles is generated 
at the Kern River, 125 miles away. Many other Cali- 
fornia cities and many cities in Oregon, Washington, Colo- 




Dynamos at Niagara Falls. 



302 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



rado, and other Western States receive electric power 
that has been generated from mountain streams. One 
of the largest water-power plants in the world is located 
at Keokuk, Iowa. In order to utilize the water for the 
production of electricity a large dam has been built across 
the Mississippi. From this place electric energy is dis- 
tributed to St. Louis and other neighboring cities. 

Millions of houses and other buildings are lighted by 
electricity. The fact that most lights are turned out from 
dawn to twilight causes a certain amount of idleness in the 
power houses during the day. To induce people to use 




Keokuk Dam across the Mississippi River. 

more electric energy in daytime, lower rates were offered 
from sunrise to sunset. Men at once began to devise new 
applications of electricity. The ice in refrigerators was 
replaced by cooling machines operated by the electric 
current. Households were equipped with electrical cooking 
apparatus. Even washing and ironing are done by elec- 
tricity, and this same force is used to run the vacuum 
cleaner. 

Conclusion. — American citizens are masters of hundreds 
of complicated branches of manufacturing. Compare 
that with the power of the Indians to make skin tents, 
beads of wampum, blanket clothing, mocassin footwear, 



INDUSTRIAL MIRACLES OF THE AMERICAN FACTORY 303 

bows and arrows, birch bark canoes, a little crude pottery, 
and the peace pipe. 

When the thirteen colonies declared themselves an in- 
dependent nation on July 4, 1776, they were far behind the 
mother country in the arts of manufacturing. But they 
struggled ceaselessly and untiringly with the wonderful 
resources that nature had scattered bountifully over the 
American continent. To-day the factories of the United 
States turn out almost twice as great a production as those 
of the United Kingdom. Lest in our pride we forget, let 
us remind ourselves that the United States is twenty-four 
and a half times as large as the United Kingdom. While 
it may be pleasant to know that our country is now the 
leading manufacturing nation on earth, we must remember 
that its area and natural resources are equal to those of 
the entire continent of Europe, — all of which means that 
the future has a right to expect more of us than we have 
accomplished in the past. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Define manufacturing, factory. 

2. What is the difference between a raw material and a manu- 
factured article? Illustrate by a food, an article of clothing, a 
piece of furniture. 

3. Prepare a large card exhibit of specimens of cotton cloth. 
Of woolen cloth. 

4. Make as large a list of food products as you can. Of 
wearing apparel. Of furniture. Opposite each article write the 
name of a place where it may have been made. 

5. Tell how you manufactured an article; for example, a 
sled, a toy, a box, a stocking, a loaf of bread. 

6. Fully describe the processes required to produce some article 
that you know about ; for example, a chair, a pin, or ice. 



304 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

7. Prepare a list of all the manufacturing industries you can 
think of. 

8. How have the size and surface of our country influenced 
the invention and use of farming implements ? 

9. Why are the factory industries in wood decreasing and 
those of iron increasing ? 

10. With what chemical are you familiar ? How useful is it ? 

11. Write up one or more of the factories of your town or some 
other city. Name articles made, the sources of raw materials, 
the factory processes. State reasons for the factory's location 
and success. 

12. Why have the New England States excelled so long in 
textile manufactures? The Lake States in iron and steel? 
The Central States in meat products ? 

13. Name articles that were formerly made of wood but are 
now constructed of iron. 

14. What advantages has a seaport factory over an inland 
factory? Has it any disadvantage? 

15. Name all the vegetable, animal, and mineral oils you can 
and state the use of each. 

16. By means of cross-shaped marks of various colors, show 
on an outline map of the United States the chief centers for 
the manufacture of the following products : shoes, red ; textiles, 
blue ; iron and steel, green ; meat, yellow ; flour, brown ; refined 
sugar, black. 



CHAPTER XXI 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN THE UNITED 

STATES 

Early Transportation by Water. — When our country 
was first settled, the rivers and coast waters were the chief 
transportation routes. Nearly all of the early settlements 
were made near the mouths of navigable rivers, and the 
inland movement of the colonists followed these streams. 
Thus the settlements were connected by water with one 
another and with Europe. The hunters and trappers fol- 
lowed the rivers and lakes far into the interior of the country 
and these waterways carried the furs and pelts down to the 
coast towns. 




A primitive means of transportation. 
305 



3°6 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Settlers crossing the Great Plains. 



Early Roads. — The earliest settlers found only Indian 
trails in the wilderness. For years they could do little to 
improve the primitive routes. Sometimes footpaths were 
enlarged to bridle paths, and these in turn -were widened 
into wagon roads. In time well-made turnpikes gave 
considerable impetus to travel. In 1639 the Massachusetts 
General Court ordered each town to build a highway to its 
neighboring town. As late as 1804, most of the trip from 
Boston to New York had to be made on horseback. Build- 
ing roads in colonial times was very difficult, because of 
the wilderness, want of money, and lack of cooperation 
among the colonies. It was harder for the pioneers to 
build a good intercolonial road than for people nowadays 
to construct an international route. The leveling of hills, 
the draining of swamps, and the building of bridges seemed 
impossible tasks until the very close of the eighteenth 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 307 

century. Travel in carriages was a luxury until the be- 
ginning of the nineteenth century. Private individuals 
and firms lacked the initiative to undertake frontier road 
making. The states voted that money obtained from land 
sales and lotteries be spent in building roads between out- 
lying settlements. The National government also under- 
took to aid the improvement of transportation by building 
the Cumberland Road from Fort Cumberland on the Poto- 
mac to Wheeling, West Virginia. Later the road was 
extended through Ohio and Indiana to Vandalia, Illinois. 




Travel by stage coach. 




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310 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Before this road was completed to its western terminus 
the building of railroads had begun. 

Modern American Roads. — For a long time after the 
introduction of railroads wagon roads were generally neg- 
lected. Recently it has been found that such roads are 
necessary arteries leading to the railroads. This fact and 
the introduction of rubber-tired vehicles and the rural 
free delivery mail service are causing renewed interest 
in good roads. To-day there are several million miles of 
gravel, crushed stone, or brick roads in this country. 
Thousands of strong bridges span the rivers in all parts of 
the United States. 

River Transportation. — No country has been more 
liberally supplied by nature with rivers and lakes than the 
United States. The Mississippi and its large tributaries 
furnish 16,000 miles of navigable waterway. All told, 
25,000 miles of our waterways are now serving commerce. 
The rivers of the United States transport a very large 
amount of freight at much lower rates than those charged 
by railroads. Grain and lumber are the chief articles of 
traffic on the upper Mississippi ; while many vessels on 
the lower river start thousands of bales of cotton on their 
long journeys to the factories. The Ohio with its head- 
waters in the iron and coal region of Pittsburgh, carries to 
the towns on its banks many barges of coal, fleets of lumber 
rafts, and many steamboats filled with factory products. 
A single fleet of barges sometimes carries 70,000 tons of coal 
down the Ohio and Mississippi from Pennsylvania to New 
Orleans. Vast quantities of iron, grain, and petroleum also 
are carried by the Ohio. 

Heavy ocean freight finds its way to and from Phila- 
delphia by way of the Delaware River. The Hudson River 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 31 1 

has a large passenger traffic, numbering several million 
travelers each year. It also receives vast loads of grain, 
meat, lumber, and other freight from the Erie Canal, which 
connects Lake Erie with the Hudson River. Almost every 
river of the Atlantic is navigable to the limit of high tide, 
called the Fall Line. The Pacific Coast is not so well sup- 
plied with navigable tributaries. 

Canals. — Water has always been such a cheap means of 
transportation that in many instances if men did not find a 
river where they needed one, they constructed an artificial 
water route and called it a canal. The first important canal 
of America was the Erie, built from 1817 to 1825 across 
the state of New York from the Hudson, near Albany, to 
Buffalo on Lake Erie. By means of this canal, freight" 




j) Detroit Photographic Co 



Erie Canal, Rochester, N.Y. 



312 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

charges across New York from Albany to Buffalo dropped 
from $120 a ton to $14 a ton ; from $10 for a barrel of flour 
to thirty cents. 

The success of the Erie Canal is attested to by the impetus 
it gave to canal building throughout the country. In the 
quarter of a century following its completion, 4500 miles 
were completed at a cost of $214,000,000. 

Improving American Waterways. — For a long time the 
river and canal traffic steadily increased. But as the 
railroads developed, river transportation steadily decreased. 
The waterways seemed unable to meet the railway competi- 
tion and so their service became less efficient. When the 
cars were unable to handle the enormous crops of late years, 
people tried to fall back on the waterways, but found 
them in rather a deplorable condition, owing to neglect and 
to the shrinkage of water due to removal of the forests. 
The necessity for improving rivers and extending canals, as 
European nations have done long ago, became evident. 
Waterways associations were formed to investigate condi- 
tions and suggest improvements. Plans for improving 
inland navigation include the deepening of rivers, the puri- 
fication of waters, development of power, the control of 
floods, and the extension of canals. The state of New York 
is now enlarging the Erie Canal so that it will carry steam- 
towed barges with a tonnage four times that of present canal 
boats. 

Panama Canal. — The greatest canal project of the 
United States is that of the Panama Canal which has just 
been completed. It cuts through the narrowest part of 
the neck of land joining North America and South 
America. The French started the project, but failed. 
The United States believed that such a canal connect- 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 313 

ing the two largest oceans would be of inestimable value 
to the United States and also to the rest of the world. 
So when the French failed in their undertaking, the 
American government bought their plant and rights 
for $40,000,000. It paid the Republic of Panama 
$10,000,000, together with an annual payment of 
$250,000, for the use and control of the Canal Zone, a 
strip of territory ten miles wide, through which the canal 
was built. 

Two serious problems were connected with the building 
of this waterway. First, the problem of sanitation ; 
and second, the task of cutting through the mountain range 
which forms a part of the backbone of the two Americas. 
Both have yielded to the skill and energy of American 
engineers. 

A ship entering the canal on the Atlantic side passes 
through a sea-level section ; then it enters the Gatun 
Locks which lift it to Gatun Lake, which is 85 feet above 
sea level. This lake was formed by placing across the 
Chagres River a dam one and one half miles long, one 
half mile wide at the base, and 100 feet wide at the top. 
After leaving Gatun Lake, the vessel enters the Gaillard 
Cut, which has been excavated through the continental 
divide of the isthmus. The canal level in this cut is the 
same as that in Gatun Lake. At the Pacific end of the 
Gaillard Cut, the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores Locks 
lower the ship to another sea-level section, which leads 
out to the Pacific Ocean. (See map of Panama Canal 
Zone, p. 347.) 

Great prophecies are made as to the wonderful advantages 
the Panama Canal will bring to America. The cheap 
freight rates will foster industry in all lands bordering on 



314 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




A lock in the Panama Canal. 

the Pacific, including our own. To meet this new business, 
transcontinental railroad lines are extending toward the 
Pacific in every North American country. There will be 
increased trade between Europe and our western coast. 

The Canal will stimulate commerce in every city on 
the Mississippi, from the head of its navigable waters to 
the Gulf. Much traffic that now goes to the Atlantic sea- 
board will go to Gulf ports. Cheaper transportation be- 
tween the Atlantic and Pacific coasts will increase commerce, 
not merely between the East and West, but between our 
eastern coast and Asia. All things considered, the southern 
coast is now much more favorably situated with reference to 
the commerce of the world than heretofore, hence southern 
ports, especially Galveston and New Orleans, should 
experience greater prosperity. 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 315 

River Ports on the Mississippi. — The largest river port 
in the United States is St. Louis, in the heart of the 
Mississippi Valley, near the mouth of the Missouri River, 
where it receives and distributes large supplies of grain, meat, 
tobacco, and machinery. Memphis, at the head of naviga- 
tion for the largest vessels on the Mississippi, is an im- 
portant southern center for lumber and cotton. New 
Orleans, commanding the southern gateway of the conti- 
nent, is the metropolis of the far South. Lying in the 
midst of the sugar-cane fields, it has a large sugar-refining 
business. It is also an important cotton-shipping point. 

River Ports on the Ohio. — Pittsburgh, at the head of 
the Ohio, is the greatest center of the iron and steel industry 
in the world. It lies in the heart of the richest coal field 
in the world ; while the Great Lakes and short rail routes 
from Lake Erie deliver the Superior iron at her doors. This 




Pittsburgh, near the junction of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. 



316 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



city is also famous for the production of oil and glass. Just 
at the point where the Ohio makes its big turn toward the 
southwest is Cincinnati. This city catches much of 
the traffic of the Ohio River. Meat, clothing, machinery, 
and malt liquors are its chief manufactured products. 




Levee on the Ohio at Cincinnati. 

The next great manufacturing and commercial center on 
the Ohio River is Louisville, leading in tobacco, flour, 
leather, and liquor industries. 

Missouri River Ports. — The enormous grain and stock- 
raising industries of the prairie states have given rise to two 
of the largest meat-packing centers in the world. They are 
Omaha, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Kansas, both on the 
Missouri River. 

Commerce on the Great Lakes. — The Great Lakes are 
the greatest of all inland waterways. For commercial pur- 
poses, two canals — one on the Canadian and the other on 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 317 

the American side — have been built around the rapids in 
the St. Marys River, between Lakes Superior and Huron. 
The American canal surpasses all other canals in the world 
in the amount of freight carried. Commerce has conquered 
Niagara Falls by passing through the Welland Canal, 
which connects Lakes Erie and Ontario. The St. Lawrence 
River, navigable for ocean vessels up to Montreal, connects 
the Great Lakes with the Atlantic. 

Iron ore, grain, flour, copper, lumber, and coal supply 
most of the traffic carried on the Great Lakes. The first 
five articles, which are the chief products of the region 
lying near Lakes Superior and Michigan, go east; while 
coal, after a short haul from the mines to Lake Erie, travels 
west. The traffic going east is several times as large as 
that going west. The freight rate on the Great Lakes is 
scarcely one tenth that of railroads for equal distances. 
This accounts for the enormous lake traffic. 

Lake Ports. — Many important cities are situated on 
the lakes, because these waters, besides affording excellent 
transportation facilities, are in the midst of vast mineral, 
lumber, and agricultural resources. From Duluth, Two 
Harbors, and Superior iron ore is shipped to southern and 
eastern lake ports. Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Toledo, 
Cleveland, and Buffalo receive and distribute this mineral 
and other products carried by the lakes. Chicago, the 
great metropolis of the North Central section, and. the 
greatest lake port in the world, is the second city of the 
United States in population. 

Milwaukee, a great grain and lumber port, is noted for 
its flour mills, machine shops, iron works, and breweries. 
Detroit manufactures iron and steel cars, automobiles, and 
machinery. Cleveland has large meat-packing, steel, and 



3i8 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




D Detroit Photographic Co. 



Lake steamers at Buffalo. 



shipbuilding interests. Buffalo, at the junction of the 
Erie Canal and Lake Erie, takes care of an immense amount 
of trade between the interior of our country and the port 
of New York. The electric power furnished by Niagara 
helps to make it a very large manufacturing center. 

Coastwise Trade. — The United States has the greatest 
coastwise traffic in the world. The large Atlantic and Gulf 
seaports, such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, 
New Orleans, and Galveston, are connected with one another 
by steamship lines. The same is true of our Pacific ports. 

In 1 817 a law was passed requiring all vessels employed 
in the coastwise trade of the United States or on the rivers 
or the Great Lakes to sail under the American flag. The 
law also requires all trade between the United States and 
its possessions, with the exception of the Philippines, to be 
carried in our own vessels. 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 319 

Merchant Marine. — Our country ranks second in the 
world, that is, next to England, in the tonnage of its mer- 
chant vessels, but most of them are engaged in domestic 
trade. Only about one tenth of our exports and imports 
are shipped in vessels owned in the United States, while 
nine tenths are handled by the ships of foreign nations. 

The Early Days of American Railroads. — Swifter and 
more reliable transportation than that afforded by canals 
and rivers is needed for modern commerce. This is supplied 
by the railroads. The first cars, something like open car- 
riages, were drawn over rails by horses. Such simple rail- 
roads were constructed about 1828. The transportation of 
heavy freight demanded more than horse power. Soon 
locomotives were imported from England, and before long 
Americans set to work to improve upon them. In 1831 
Peter Cooper's engine, Tom Thumb, made its maiden 
trip of thirteen miles in one hour and gained the honors over 
the horse with which it raced. Each drew one car of pas- 
sengers. Another remarkable engine of this early rail- 



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An early American train. 



320 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



road period, the "Best Friend/' made twenty miles with 
five loaded cars attached. The early railroads were all 
short, usually connecting seaports with local inland points. 
Then interior towns were joined. The first runs of some 
of the lines were great occasions. Some of the trial trips 
of the pioneer trains were honored with music played by 
a band in the first passenger coach. In order to enlist the 
aid of the government, state legislators were guests of 
honor on " first trips/' which closed with festive dinners. 

By the mid- 
dle of the nine- 
teenth century 
hundreds of 
short lines under 
the management 
of as many 
different owners 
were in opera- 
tion throughout 
the seaboard 
states. Passen- 
gers desiring to 
go great dis- 
tances had to 
change cars 
frequent ly. 
Freight, too, had 
to be reloaded, 
causing unneces- 
sary labor and 
delays so that 
goods were some- 




Main waiting room, Pennsylvania Station, 
New York. 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 32 1 

times spoiled or lost. About 1850, a number of short lines 
in New York State were purchased and operated by one 
management. They were soon connected and afforded 
continuous trips between Albany and Buffalo. This was 
the beginning of the great system of railroads known as 
the New York Central Lines. Other railroad consolida- 
tions soon came into existence. The Pennsylvania Rail- 
road is a great system built up by the union of more than 
200 railroads. Soon after the middle of the century, by 
consolidation and westward extension of railroads, the in- 
terior came into touch with the Atlantic seaboard. By 
1853 Chicago had been connected by rail with the eastern 
coast. With liberal aid from the Na f ional government, a 
railroad reached the Pacific coast in 1869. This was the 
first tie that firmly bound the West to the East. 

Magnitude of American Railway Network. — After 1869 
there was great activity in railway construction, especially 
in the central and 
western regions, 
which were being 
opened up to settle- 
ment. Since 1890 
from 2000 to 5000 
miles of new tracks 

have been built each A modern American locomotive. 

year. Most of the unskilled labor was done by immigrants. 
Immense sums of money are invested in the railroads of 
the United States, and they do a very profitable business. 
The total value of United States railroads in 1910 was over 
$19,000,000,000, representing about a sixth of the wealth 
of this country, and owned by about 212,000 stockholders. 
More than 1,600,000 men are on the payrolls of railroad 




322 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

companies. In spite of the fact that the United States has 
over 250,000 miles of railway, which is 10 per cent more 
mileage than all Europe, and is equal to 40 per cent of all 
the railroads of the world, we need many more. 

Importance of Railroads. — The United States could 
never have competed in industry and commerce with Great 
Britain and Germany but for the railroads. Distances 
here are enormous compared with those countries. All 
the English factories, for instance, are within fifty miles 
or less of the seacoast. When we remember that each of 
the various industries of our country is confined mainly 
to a special district from which its products must be dis- 
tributed over a country equal in area to the continent of 
Europe, we get some conception of the importance of rail- 
roads. Let us briefly review a few of the great industrial 
districts. Corn and wheat are produced chiefly in the 
North Central States ; cotton, sugar cane, and rice in the 
South; oranges, lemons, and other semitropical fruits 
in California and Florida ; meat in the corn belt and on the 
western plains ; and lumber in the South and Northwest. 
Coal is mined in Pennsylvania and other states of the Ohio 
basin. Illinois is a great center for the manufacture of 
agricultural implements ; Massachusetts, shoes and cotton 
goods ; and Pennsylvania, iron and steel. The distribution 
of these products and numerous others keeps the railroads 
busy all summer and winter, day and night. 

Railroad Centers. — Many river and lake ports, finding 
their water communication entirely inadequate, have be- 
come great railroad centers as well. Other inland cities 
owe their commercial importance entirely to railroads. 

Chicago. — Chicago is the greatest railroad center as 
well as the greatest lake port in the world. Most of the 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 323 




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THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



commerce of the United States moves east and west, and 
Lake Michigan extending north and south for 300 miles 









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Railroad yards, Chicago. 

causes a great concentration of railroads at its southern 
end. This concentration alone would make Chicago a 
great commercial center. It is situated in the most ex- 
tensive agricultural region of the country, and the enor- 
mous productivity of this section gives a vast trade to the 
city. In meat packing Chicago ranks first among the cities 
of the world. Other important manufactures of this city 
are iron and steel, machinery, clothing, lumber, railroad 
cars, and flour. 

St. Louis. — Although its favorable location for river 
transportation gave St. Louis an early start, its continued 
growth has been due to the many railroads that center 
there. St. Louis lies in the path of much of the commerce 
between the East and the West, and more than two dozen 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 325 

railroads enter the city. From this city several important 
railroads extend to the Gulf and inland cities of the South. 
Railroad Centers on Lake Erie. — Buffalo, Detroit, 
Cleveland, and Toledo are the most important railroad 
centers on Lake Erie. At Buffalo, lying at the eastern 
end of the Lake, the east bound lake traffic is transferred 
from ships to railroad cars. This city is also the meeting 
point of railroads from the Atlantic coast, from the North 
Central section, and from Canada. Detroit is the crossing 
place of east and west railroads that run north of Lake 
Erie. Cleveland is the meeting point of iron ore from the 
Lake Superior mines and of coal from the mines of 
Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. From this city 
the coal is shipped by water to western points. A large 
part of the iron ore is shipped from this point by rail to 




A view of St. Louis. 



326 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



the iron and steel cities south of Lake Erie. A consider- 
able portion goes to the blast furnaces of Cleveland itself. 
Toledo, at the western end of Lake Erie, is an important 
shipping point of grain, lumber, and coal. 

St. Paul — Minneapolis. — St. Paul and Minneapolis 
constitute a great railroad center of the Northwest. From 




Interior of a flour mill, Minneapolis. 

this industrial district three of the great " transcontinental" 
railroads run to the Pacific coast. Situated close to the 
pine forests near Lake Superior, and the rich wheat fields 
of the Red River Valley, these two cities are important 
shipping points of wheat, flour, and lumber. Minneapolis 
has the largest flour mills in the world. 

Kansas City and Omaha. — Kansas City and Omaha are 
the chief commercial centers of the Missouri Valley. Into 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 327 

these cities the railroads bring numerous trainloads of 
cattle and hogs to the packing houses and ship out enor- 
mous quantities of dressed meats. Kansas City in Missouri 
and Kansas City, Kansas, constitute a single commercial 
center. 

Denver and Salt Lake City. — Denver lies at the meet- 
ing point of radiating mountain passes, connected by many 
railroads. This fact has developed its manufactures of 
mining machinery, and made it a financial center of the 




A view of Denver. 

Rocky Mountain region. Salt Lake City is the chief rail- 
road center of the Great Basin. 

Indianapolis. — Most of the east and west trade of the 
United States moves across the level plains lying between 
the Great Lakes and the Ohio River. The importance of 
Indianapolis as a railroad center is very largely due to its 
location in the middle of this region. Its grain elevators, 
flour mills, meat-packing establishments, and automobile 
factories owe their success to the crossing of lines of trade 
and travel from all directions. 



3 2 * 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



Cincinnati. — Cincinnati, the most important railroad 
center of the Ohio Valley, is the crossing place of several 
east- west lines and north-south lines. Fine railroad bridges 
span the Ohio at this place. 

Inland Railroad Centers of the South. — Atlanta is the 
chief inland railroad center of the South. Birmingham and 
Montgomery are important transportation centers of 
Alabama. The former, lying in the great coal and iron 
district of the South, ships large quantities of pig iron. 
Fort Worth and Dallas, situated in the heart of a produc- 
tive cattle and cotton region, are important, collecting and 
distributing centers of northern Texas. El Paso is the 
center of a number of lines that connect with Mexican 
railways. 

Electric Roads. — Tn recent years many electric railways 
have been built. These lines have penetrated out-of-the- 
way places and developed sections which the steam cars 




Car used on interurban electric railway. 

had failed to reach. Interurban lines have done much to 
promote the social life of rural districts and to relieve 
crowded conditions in large cities. Because they afford 
quick, cheap transportation, they have become carriers 
of milk, butter, and garden produce from country districts 
to the cities. 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 329 



The United States Postal System. — With the introduc- 
tion of the railroad, which greatly reduced the cost of mail 
delivery, the United States Post Office became an important 
promoter of trade. People write letters, ordering goods 
from distant parts, and they send checks and postal money 
orders in payment of purchases made. The cost of the 
postage is only a trifle in comparison with the millions of 
dollars involved in such transactions every day. By parcel 
post, packages of 
merchandise not ex- 
ceeding fifty pounds 
may be mailed to all 
places in the first 
and second zones, 
and not exceeding 
twenty pounds to 
points in the other 
zones of the United 
States. This new 
work of the post 
office department is 
of great commercial 
importance. 

Telegraphs. — For modern commercial purposes, a letter 
is frequently too slow to produce the desired result. Since 
1844 many telegraph wires have been stretched over this 
land to promote business by increasing communication 
facilities. As in the use of electricity for manufacturing, 
it was found that during the hours of the night the wires 
were not in great demand. Recently, companies have made 
it possible to send night letters by telegraph at greatly 
reduced cost. The telegraph is very necessary for the safe 




Interior postal railroad car. 



330 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

operation of railroads. Hence, the poles and wires are 
usually placed alongside of the tracks. 

Telephones. — In 1876, even a more wonderful means 
of communication came into use. The telephone outdoes 
the telegraph, for it clearly transmits the human voice 
hundreds and even thousands of miles. By means of this 
remarkable invention, goods are bought and sold in a small 
fraction of the time required by mail or even the telegraph. 
People can be in close touch with their friends or customers 
at a moment's notice. The farmer feels near to distant 
neighbors, and increases his profits by telephone communi- 
cation with various markets, enabling him to buy and sell 
to the best advantage. 

Summary of Domestic Trade. — In railroad mileage, the 
United States stands first among all countries. Our in- 
dustrial prosperity is very largely due to the cheap and 
rapid transportation of goods by the railroads. Without 
them the great products of farms, mines, and factories could 
not be distributed to the sections that need them. In 
addition to the vast network of railroads, this country has 
many navigable rivers and lakes. The Great Lakes form 
the greatest inland waterway in the * world. Good roads 
are of no less value than railroads, and the states are rapidly 
building new highways and improving old ones. 

Questions and Exercises 

1. Draw a map of the United States showing the coast 
indentations and the large rivers. 

2. Collect pictures of passenger, freight, and interurban 
cars. Pictures of canals. 

3. Trace routes through Panama Canal (a) from New York 
to San Diego; (b) Portland, Oregon, to New Orleans ; (c) Bos- 
ton to San Francisco. 



DOMESTIC EXCHANGE OF GOODS IN UNITED STATES 331 

4. In the improvements of what waterways are you most 
interested? How will their improvement affect the industries 
of your community? 

5. Tell about the important river ports of your part of the 
country. 

6. Trace the coastwise route from Boston to Philadelphia; 
from Philadelphia to Porto Rico; state cargoes, freight rates, 
and length of trip. 

7. Make a railroad map of the United States, showing trunk 
lines. 

8. On a map, connect your city by the proper railroads 
with the six largest cities of the United States. 

9. Study a railroad map of your state. 

10. Compare cost of sending a day telegram from your town 
to the nearest large city with that of a night telegraph letter 
between the same points. 

n. Discuss your city streets or county roads as arteries of 
traffic. 

12. Name the chief railroads that pass through your city. 
Name the most important kind of freight carried. 

13. What route would you take to go to New York ? Denver? 
St. Louis ? Chicago ? Seattle ? New Orleans ? 

14. How do the Great Lakes promote commerce ? 

15. What do you know about the Good Roads Movement? 

16. Do you know of any recent inventions that may still 
further revolutionize transmission of messages or mail ? 



CHAPTER XXII 1 
THE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES 

Our Foreign Commerce. — During the past twenty-five 
years, the United States has made such great progress in 
foreign trade that it now ranks as one of the three greatest 
commercial nations of the world. The value of our exports 
is greater than that of our imports, while the value of the 
exports of the United Kingdom and Germany is less than 
the value of the imports of each country. In the early 
history of the United States, farm products and other raw 
materials formed nearly all of our exports. To-day, manu- 
facturing is so extensive that factory products constitute a 
large part. Due to our rapid gain in population, there is so 
great a domestic demand for foodstuffs that the export of 
these products is relatively decreasing. In proportion to the 
population, our foreign commerce is less than that of 
European nations. The per capita foreign trade of Great 
Britain is one hundred ten dollars; that of Germany is 
sixty-seven dollars ; while that of the United States is 
only thirty-eight dollars. Even Switzerland and Belgium 
excel us in per capita foreign trade; and the Dutch aver- 
age three hundred eighty dollars of foreign commerce to 
every man, woman, and child in the land. 1 

Exports of the United States. — The great fish and lumber 
resources of the northeastern section, the tobacco of the 
Middle Atlantic States, the cotton of the South, and grain 

1 This chapter represents conditions as they were before the Great War; 
for the permanent effects of the war cannot yet be ascertained. 

332 



THE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES 333 

and meat of the interior have from the start been our chief 
exports. To these, coal and its by-products, petroleum, 
iron, steel, and copper manufactures, dairy products, hops, 
agricultural implements, naval stores, fertilizers, carriages 
and cars, paper and books, furs, sugar, molasses, fruits, 
cotton and woolen manufactures, brass, and soap, besides 
many other minor products, were added later. 

In its early stages the country sent out immense quanti- 
ties of raw material, especially agricultural products. Even 
now these form the largest part of our exports ; but they 
are decreasing fast. Indeed, on account of the rapidly 
increasing population, we may soon be compelled to import 
even such foodstuffs as are easily produced here. In the 
meantime, our manufactured goods are finding an ever 
better demand abroad. Now two fifths of our exports are 
factory products, and it is hoped that these will steadily 
increase in the future. At present they consist chiefly 
of cotton, breadstuffs, meat, and dairy products, iron and 
steel, leather manufactures, tobacco, coal, copper products, 
and fruits. Our best customers are Great Britain and 
Ireland, Germany, Canada, France, Netherlands, Italy, 
Belgium, and Mexico. These are not our only markets, for 
we sell at least a little to almost every nation on the earth. 

Imports of the United States. — The United States 
imports much raw material that is converted here into 
finished articles ; notably, raw sugar, hides and skins, raw 
silk, vegetable fibers, and rubber. Other imports are 
tropical and semitropical fruits, coffee, tea, spices, drugs, 
furs, toys, wool, dyes, and chemicals. Our island 
possessions, Porto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philippines, send 
us many tropical products. The countries from which we 
buy most are Great Britain and Ireland, Germany, France, 



334 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Cuba, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Italy, India, Bel- 
gium, and China. 

Seaports. — The United States has a greater number of 
large seaports than any other country. A city to become 
an important seaport must be situated on a good harbor, 
must have easy access by transportation lines to the interior 
of the country, and must have short water routes to the 
leading commercial countries of the world. Our leading 
seaports are New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Puget Sound, 
New Orleans, Baltimore, San Francisco, and Galveston. 
Since most of our trade is with Europe, the Atlantic ports 
have a far greater foreign commerce than the Pacific ports 
have. 

Port of New York. — New York, the eastern " sea-gate 
of the continent," is the chief commercial port of the United 
States and of the world. It is the largest manufacturing 




Customhouse, New York. 



THE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES 335 



center of this country, the most important manufactures 
being clothing, books and periodicals, dressed meats, 
machinery, and refined sugar. The city is crowded with 
factories and warehouses; the streets are congested with 
land traffic, and the harbor is filled with river and ocean 
craft. It is America's 
chief banking center. 
Its greatest occupa- 
tion is commerce. 
New York handles 
two thirds of our 
imports, and one 
third of our exports. 
Sixteen lines of rail- 
way, coming from 
the north, west, and 
south, center iii this 
city. Many steam- 
ship lines terminate 
in New York and its 
adjoining ports, 
Hoboken and Jersey 
City. On an aver- 
age, twenty large 
passenger and freight 
steamers arrive and 
depart daily. Three 
thousand freight cars daily bring in cargoes for these ships 
from the west. In order to facilitate the street traffic, the 
city is provided with subways through which thousands 
of people are carried every day between various points in 
the city. Tunnels under the East River connect Man- 




Metropolitan Building, New York. 



336 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



hattan with Brooklyn, Long Island ; others under the 
Hudson River join the city with New Jersey. 

Boston, the second port of this country, has been a leading 
commercial center for over a hundred years. It is a large 
cotton, wool, and shoe market. Coal, cotton, wool, rubber, 
and hides are imported ; corn, wheat, cattle, and leather 
are exported. The city has extensive trade with Great 
Britain, and a heavy coastwise trade with other North 
Atlantic cities and with Canada. It is one of the most 
important manufacturing centers of the United States, 
the chief products being books and periodicals, boots and 
shoes, and clothing. 




Boston harbor. 



Philadelphia, the fourth city in foreign commerce, is 
third in population. The city is an important manufactur- 



THE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES 337 

ing center. Clothing, woolen goods, books and periodicals, 
leather, cotton goods, carpets and rugs, refined sugar, and 





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Shipbuilding yards, Philadelphia. 

locomotives are made here. Its exports include in addition 
to its manufactures, corn, wheat, meat, and petroleum. 
The imports are chiefly fruit and raw sugar from the West 
Indies, and carpet wool from Europe. Steamship lines 
connect it with Liverpool, Antwerp, and the West Indies. 

Baltimore is an important commercial and manufacturing 
center on Chesapeake Bay. The export trade, consisting 
of wheat, flour, tobacco, cotton, meat, copper, and corn, 
is extensive, and is carried on by three transatlantic steam- 
ship lines. The manufacturing interests include tobacco, 
iron and steel, and the canning of fruits and vegetables. 
Its most noted industry is the catching and shipping of 



33« 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 




Unloading oysters, Baltimore. 



oysters. An average of thirty carloads of oysters leave 
daily between September and April. 

Puget Sound. — Seattle, Tacoma, and other cities on 
Puget Sound constitute the port of Puget Sound. These 
cities handle most of the Alaskan trade, and also carry on 
extensive commerce with Asia. Lumber and wheat are 
leading exports of this port. 

San Francisco, with one of the most beautiful harbors 
in the world, is the financial and commercial center of the 
Pacific coast. Sugar refining is an important industry, 
most of the raw sugar being imported from* Hawaii. The 
Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and Western 
Pacific serve San Francisco, but its railway connections 
are only fairly good, when compared with those of the great 



THE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES 339 

Atlantic ports. Steamship lines extend from San Francisco 
to the ports of Oregon, Puget Sound, and Alaska. Others 
connect it with Panama, Central America, the Hawaiian 
Islands, Japan, Australia, and England. Tea and silk 
are imported from Japan, wool is received from Australia. 
The principal exports, wheat, flour, lumber, canned fruits, 
and salmon, are sent chiefly to Europe. Los Angeles, 
Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland are San Francisco's com- 
mercial rivals. 

New Orleans. — In foreign commerce New Orleans ranks 
third among the seaports of the United States, being a close 
rival to Boston. Although about seventy miles up the Mis- 
sissippi River, the city is reached by large ocean steamers. 
The shallow water of the river near the mouth is deep- 
ened by the construction of walls, or jetties, which confine 
the river to a narrow channel. The current between the 



- 




An ocean steamer at New Orleans. 



340 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

jetties has sufficient velocity to clear the channel of silt 
and thus keep the depth at about thirty feet. Enormous 
cargoes of cotton and grain are exported from this city, 
and large quantities of bananas and other fruits from the 
tropical countries to the south are brought in. The 
Panama Canal and larger trade with South America will 
doubtless increase the foreign commerce of New Orleans. 

Galveston is a rival of New Orleans as a commercial 
center. It is one of the largest cotton-shipping ports in 
the world, and is a collecting and distributing center for 
the western part of the Gulf States. 

Finding Foreign Markets. — Our tremendous gain in 
manufacturing industries makes it necessary to find new 
markets for surplus products. The countries that buy our 
cotton are encouraging the cultivation of cotton in their 
colonial possessions, and if these countries should succeed 
in raising much of the cotton needed for their mills, our ex- 
ports would decrease unless we find other markets. 

The new markets for which we are looking are not to be 
found in Europe where the countries are older than ours, 
and have turned their overflowing population from the fields 
into the factories. They must be found in undeveloped 
countries where farming is the chief occupation. In 
uncivilized and backward nations the people are rapidly 
acquiring modern methods of living and their wants are 
rapidly increasing. In such countries we should secure our 
share of commerce. 

The chief reason we are not capturing foreign trade as 
fast as we should, is that we have not learned how to sell 
goods. Foreigners, especially the Germans, can teach us 
some valuable lessons. They have schools of practical 
training for youths who expect to engage in foreign trade. 



THE FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES 34 1 

German boys are taught foreign languages so that they 
may be able to talk business in the language of the customer. 
As soon as they are old enough, German apprentices in 
commerce are sent to foreign lands, where they take posi- 
tions as office help, sometimes even as janitors, merely to 
acquire the power to speak the strange language fluently, 
and to learn all about the peculiar commercial whims and 
tastes of the natives. In due time they are promoted, and, 
finally, they return to Germany, where they report what 
they have learned. They are then instructed in the factory 
about all processes of manufacturing articles they are to sell 
later. We must train young Americans in the same way. 
They should, by all means, learn Spanish and French, and, 
if possible, other languages. When we have improved 
our system of business education a large increase in trade 
will come to us as it has to others. 

Present Movements for Gaining Markets. — Both the 
government and business men of the United States see the 
need of increasing our foreign markets ; and earnest efforts 
are being made to compete successfully with other nations. 
Men organize themselves into local societies whose business 
it is to study foreign needs and the best means of advertising. 
These organizations are called chambers of commerce, 
boards of trade, or commercial clubs. Agents are sent by 
the United States Department of Commerce into other 
countries for the purpose of studying trade conditions. 
Our national government sends consuls into all foreign 
lands, whose most important duty it is to study commercial 
needs abroad and report them to Washington at once. 
Formerly these reports were published monthly, but now 
they are published daily. Thus the government helps com- 
merce and manufacturing, as it aids agriculture and mining. 



342 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

Questions and Exercises 

i. From which sections of this country do the majority of 
our exports come ? Account for this. 

2. Trace ocean routes between our seaports and those of our 
foreign customers. 

3. Can you think of ways of securing foreign markets not 
mentioned in this chapter ? (See the Daily Consular and Trade 
Reports, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C.) 

4. Name ten countries where we might successfully secure 
markets for our factory goods. 

5. Have we as good a chance of securing foreign markets as 
our rivals ? 

6. Why have our meats been refused at times by European 
countries ? 

7. Look through the current magazines for articles on 
American commerce. 

8. Visit your home chamber of commerce to learn what it is 
doing to promote the interests of the community. 

9. What makes a good seaport ? 

10. Is it fortunate or unfortunate that most of our foreign 
trade is carried in foreign ships ? 

11. On a map, connect our leading seaports with the world's 
leading ports, by the proper steamship lines. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
COLONIAL POSSESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 

Outlying Possessions. — The continuous area lying 
between Canada and Mexico, and extending from the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, is known as " Continental United 
States," or simply the " United States." Our first out- 
lying possession was Alaska, which was purchased from 
Russia in 1867. By our war with Spain, in 1898, we 
gained possession of Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands, 
and Guam; in the same year Hawaii was annexed to the 
United States; and in later years we acquired other islands 
and part of Panama. Now the Stars and Stripes float over 
American possessions in three zones. 

Cuba and the United States. — After Spain was forced 
to give up Cuba at the close of the Spanish-American War, 




Longitude 



Santiago ^$ 



Greenwich 76° i.i. pqates co., n 



343 



344 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



this island, with the aid of the United States, became a 
republic. While Cuba is an independent nation, our country 
has certain rights there. The American government has 
agreed to protect this island against foreign attacks; in 
return for this service, Cuba has leased several naval 
stations to the United States. In this age when the ocean 
plays such a large part in the welfare of the nations, naval 
stations scattered over the waters of the earth are of great 
importance. 

Our friendly relations with Cuba give us preference in 
her trade, which is fortunate, since each produces what the 
other wants. Our Cuban imports of sugar alone are an 







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Loading sugar on a ship in a Cuban port. 



item of great importance, for Cuba produces more cane 
sugar than any other region ; and of all countries, the United 
States is the largest sugar consumer. In addition to sugar, 



COLONIAL POSSESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 345 

the island sends us tobacco, bananas, coconuts, oranges, 
pineapples, mahogany, and dyewoods ; for which we 
return wheat, meat, lumber, and fuel. So far we have not 
captured her trade in manufactured imports, which she 
receives largely from Great Britain, Spain, Germany, and 
France. 

Porto Rico. — Porto Rico received the Americans with 
open arms at the time of the revolt against Spain. Since 



67° 




L.L. POATES CO., N.Y 



Longitude 67° 



66° Greenwich 



1898 it has had an American government, and there are 
friendly trade relations between it and our country. Its 
area is not quite that of Connecticut, but it is one of the most 
highly cultivated and densely populated of the West 
Indies. The island supports more than a million people. 
Life is very simple there. It is summer the year round, 
hence only light clothing is worn, and many houses are 
only grass-covered huts. Vegetables and fruits are the 
chief food ; and their production requires little effort. Up 
to the time the United States took possession of it, Porto 
Rico had attained only the most primitive development. 



346 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



American schools have been established, and modern 
machinery and methods of transportation are being intro- 
duced. 

The United States controls almost nine tenths of the 
trade. We import sugar, coffee, tobacco, and fruit from 
Porto Rico, and export iron and steel manufactures, cotton 
goods, rice, flour, and meats. Its chief city, San Juan, is a 




) Underwood & Underwood. 

An American school in Porto Rico. 



port of call for trade steamers going the rounds of the 
islands in the Caribbean Sea. Culebra, one of the five 
small adjoining islands which fell to our possession with 
Porto Rico, is an important naval station. 

The Canal Zone. — A small strip of territory ten miles 
wide across the Republic of Panama, known as the Canal 
Zone, was acquired by the United States in 1904. The 



COLONIAL POSSESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 347 




Republic of Panama, 
from whom the Zone 
was bought, is very 
friendly to the United 
States. It, like Cuba, 
though independent, 
is under our protec- 
tion against foreign 
attack. 

Hawaiian Islands. 
— One of the most 
beautiful possessions 
is the group of Ha- 
waiian Islands, whose 
fertile valleys are 
covered with sugar 
and rice plantations, and whose green mountain slopes 
furnish pasture for cattle and sheep. The healthful climate, 
the invigorating breezes, and the charming landscapes 
make these islands almost a paradise on earth. 

Oahu Island, the most populous of the group, stands at 
the cross-roads of commerce in the heart of the Pacific. 
Steamers carrying American, Asian, and Australian trade 
regularly stop here on their long trips across the ocean. 
The trade routes between San Francisco and the Philippines, 
between Seattle and Australia, and between Panama and 
Japan cross at Honolulu, which has become a coaling sta- 
tion for all the world. The United States could not have 
found better commercial and strategic possessions. 

Hawaiian Products. — The warm climate and the rich 
volcanic soil make the raising of sugar cane the most profit- 
able business on the island. The yield of cane per acre 



348 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



is unsurpassed, because the most improved methods of 
cultivation are employed. Sugar forms ninety-five per cent 
of the total exports of the Hawaiian Islands. Most of it goes 
to San Francisco, the rest to New York and Philadelphia. 
Rice, fruit, coffee, tobacco, and hides are also exported. 




The people of Hawaii realize the drawbacks of having 
practically only one source of income. They are trying 
to develop other crops, such as rice, bananas, pineapples, 
and coffee. Manufacturing is being developed, and the 
canning of pineapples and other fruits is already an im- 
portant industry. The United States has most of the 
Hawaiian trade. In return for their sugar and fruits, we 
send them lumber, hardware, machinery, groceries, dry 
goods, and clothing. 

The People of Hawaii. — The Hawaiian Islands have a 
very mixed population, composed of natives, Chinese, 
Japanese, Portuguese, and about ten thousand Americans, 



COLONIAL POSSESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 349 

British, and Germans. The business of these islands is 
controlled mostly by citizens of the United States, who have 
introduced modern improvements of every kind, — roads, 
railways, ships, wireless telegraph, telephones, electric 
light, and trolley cars. The Pacific cable connects these 
islands with San Francisco. 

Samoa and Guam. — The United States owns a number 
of small islands that form important commercial stations 
between Hawaii and the western shores of the Pacific. 
Between Australia and Hawaii lie the Samoan group of 
islands. Five of these belong to the United States. While 
they have little commercial value, the natural harbor of 
Pago Pago makes an excellent naval station. Guam is a 
fertile island lying between Hawaii and the Philippines. Its 
chief use now is as a cable and coaling station. There are 
several other small islands which form parts of the American 
chain across the Pacific. 

The Philippine Islands. — The tropical Philippines, 
numbering between two thousand and three thousand 
islands, extend over a distance north and south equal to 
that from Duluth to New Orleans, and east and west from 
Chicago to New York. Their area is almost equal to that 
of Great Britain and Ireland. Different parts of the group 
vary considerably in temperature and in the amount of 
rainfall. 

The People. — The nine million inhabitants consist of 
Malays, Negritos, Chinese, Japanese, Spaniards, British, 
and Americans. The Malay population, about eight 
million in number, are called Filipinos. Most of the people 
are Christians, but do not have high standards of living; 
many are satisfied with the bare necessities of life. As 
a result, agriculture is not yielding a tenth of what it 



BachiJ Channel 



Balintang Channel 



PHILIPPINE 
ISLANDS 



SCALE OF MILES 




124 Greenwich 



350 



COLONIAL POSSESSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES 351 



might ; the most primitive methods of transportation are 
in use ; mining and manufacturing are in their infancy. 

Products. — The chief business is agriculture. The 
leading products are Manila hemp, coconuts, sugar, rice, 
fruits, and spices. As many of these are not produced in 
the United States, we have a very active trade with these 
islands. The fibers of Manila hemp are used to make ropes 
and binder twine. Better 
cultivation of the land would 
greatly increase the farm 
crops. The vast forests, 
containing woods adapted 
for cabinet work and veneer- 
ing, as well as for house and 
ship building, are a source 
of great wealth. Besides 
timber, they yield valuable 
gum and dyewoods. But 
these resources have scarcely 
been touched. The mining industries have not yet been 
extensively developed. 

Philippine Commerce. — The Philippine Islands, with 
twenty times as much land as there is in the Hawaiian 
group, and forty times as many people, carry on very 
little more commerce. This is due to primitive methods of 
cultivation, poor means of transportation, scarcity of 
capital, and lack of education. The leading exports are 
Manila hemp, copra, sugar, and tobacco. The United 
States receives a third of their exports, followed by the 
United Kingdom, France, and Spain. Their leading im- 
ports, rice, cotton goods, iron and steel products, meats, 
flour, and petroleum, are purchased mainly from England 




Hemp factory, Philippine Islands. 



352 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



and the United States. American machinery, banks, 
railroads, post offices, telegraphs, schools, and business 

methods are already greatly 
increasing the commercial 
value of these islands, and 
improving the conditions of 
the people. 

Conclusion. — The acqui- 
sition of outlying posses- 
sions has placed the United 
States in the class of great 
imperial nations, not be- 
cause the possessions gained 
are extensive in territory, 
but because they are important for commercial and naval 
reasons. We have become the peers of the British and 
the German empires. 




A Philippine loom. 



Questions and Exercises 

i. How do you account for our long-time lack of interest in 
colonies while England and Germany were strenuously striving 
for more territory ? 

2. Is it easy or difficult for colonies, like the Philippines, 
to suddenly adjust themselves to a new government ? 

3. Could we have commercial prosperity in our colonies 
without establishing a strong modern government there ? 

4. In a general way compare the climate and products 
of the United States with those of her colonies. 

5. Which of our colonial possessions do you consider the 
most valuable ? Why ? 

6. Of what political and commercial advantage to the United 
States is the American Pacific cable which connects her islands 
with the mainland? 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE MATERIAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL STATUS 
OF THE UNITED STATES TO-DAY 

Material Resources. — The United States, stretching 
from ocean to ocean and from the Gulf to the Great Lakes, 
is a storehouse of rich treasures. Extensive areas of fertile 
farm lands, rich mines, extensive forests of valuable timber, 
navigable lakes and rivers, and swift streams furnishing 
enormous water power are some of our greatest natural re- 
sources. Our country produces more coal and iron than 
any other country. Larger crops of corn and cotton are 
grown in the United States than in all the rest of the world ; 
and our wheat crop is larger than that of any other country. 
In the manufacture of iron and steel goods, flour, meats, and 
many other important products we excel all other countries. 

Conservation of Natural Resources. — So vast were our 
natural resources that for a long time we were extravagant 
in the use of them. At last we realized the danger of waste- 
fulness, and we are now beginning to conserve the material 
wealth of our country. We are guarding our forests against 
fires that in past years have caused such appalling losses. 
Unnecessary waste in lumbering and in the manufacture 
of wood products is growing less each year. By more care- 
ful methods of mining we are securing a larger percentage 
of the available mineral supply than ever before. Through 
scientific methods of agriculture we are obtaining larger 
crops than heretofore, and at the same time we keep the 
soil up to its full measure of fertility. 

353 



354 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

People. — It required the brain and brawn, not merely 
of one but of many nationalities, to develop the wonderful 
resources of the United States. Fundamentally, America 
is English ; but descendants of Germany, Sweden, Holland, 
France, and Spain worked at this gigantic task from the 
very start. In later years, Italians, Russians, and Austrians 
sought and found homes in America and are adding their 
share of effort to the building up of this great nation. 
Moreover the negro, the red man, and the Mongolian have 
each played a part in making America the most cosmopoli- 
tan of nations. 

Characteristics of the Americans. — The inherent char- 
acteristics of Americans, which are the most important 
factor in their success, are self-reliance, push, audacity, 
inventiveness, fair-mindedness, eagerness for novelty, a 
world-wandering spirit, a capacity for work, and a love of 
duty. 

Conservation of Human Beings. — Great attention is 
being given to the conservation of the health of our people. 
New methods of fighting disease are being discovered each 
year, and great emphasis is placed upon the maintenance of 
the conditions that insure public health/ To promote public 
health, laws have been passed making sanitary conditions 
compulsory. Crowded tenements are being abolished. 
Cities are cleaning streets and alleys, quarantining conta- 
gious diseases, and inspecting food supplies. The hours 
of labor have been reduced from sixteen and eighteen to 
ten and eight. Children are not permitted to work at all 
in certain occupations. Laws are enforced to prevent acci- 
dents in mines, factories, and on railroad trains. 

Government by the People. — Our laws are made by 
Congress, which consists of the Senate and the House of 



THE UNITED STATES TO-DAY 



355 



Representatives. The members of both houses of Congress 
are elected by the people. The term of office of Senators is 
six years, that of Representatives is two years. The chief 
executive of the United States is the President, elected for 
four years. He may advise Congress on governmental 
affairs, but is unable to make a law. In many respects he 
is subject to other departments of the government. All 
American officials are responsible to the people. Our 
liberal government gives the citizens wonderful privileges, 
but it also lays great duties on us. We must all help to 
work out the national welfare. Republics are safe only 
when all the people realize their responsibilities and strive 
after high standards of living. 

Education in the United States. — The public schools in 
our country are supported generously by taxation, and 




A class in cooking. 



356 



THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 



parents and guardians are compelled by law to send their 
children to school for a specified number of years. The 
more progressive states are now raising the age limit at 
which pupils may stop school from fourteen years to six- 
teen. More subjects are constantly added to the curricu- 
lum, such as hygiene and industrial training. More money 





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is being spent on elementary schools, high schools, agricul- 
tural colleges, universities, trade and professional schools. 
Plans are being made for every kind of commercial training. 
This nation gives so much attention to the education of the 
youth because the people believe that it is the chief means 
of assuring their future welfare. 

Means of Recreation. — We give considerable attention 
to recreation and pleasure. Good plays, operas, and con- 
certs are offered to the public in winter ; and outdoor musi- 
cal entertainments are furnished in summer. Newspapers 



THE UNITED STATES TO-DAY 



357 



and magazines devoted to every possible interest may be 
had at small cost. Most of the American homes have 
lawns of their own, and there are many public parks and 
playgrounds in the large cities. The rivers and lakes 
afford boating and swimming. Working hours are short- 




School children dancing in public recreation grounds. 

ened in summer. The Saturday half holiday and the annual 
two weeks' vacation, usually with pay, are important fac- 
tors in making efficient American citizens. No other 
country offers more magnificent recreation centers than 
ours. There are the many famous Atlantic summer resorts, 
the lakes of Maine, the White Mountains of New Hamp- 
shire, the Green Mountains and Lake Champlain of Ver- 
mont, the Adirondacks and Niagara Falls of New York, 
the winter resorts of Florida, the summer resorts of north- 
ern Michigan, the wonderful caves of Indiana and Ken- 



358 THREE INDUSTRIAL NATIONS 

tucky, the Great Lakes of the North, and the glorious 
mountains of the West. 

Good Will of Other Countries. — The United States is 
on friendly terms, not only with other countries of North 
America, but also with nearly all the other nations of the 
world. By carefully observing the rules of neutrality when 
other countries are at war, by giving disinterested advice 
when they reach a crisis, by furthering the cause of peace 
in other lands, and by carefully respecting the rights of 
others, our country has gained for herself a lofty position 
in the good will and respect of the world. 

Our Relations with England and Germany. — The year 
191 4 marked the hundredth anniversary of peace between 
England and the United States. The bonds of friendship 
are becoming stronger every year. Until 191 7 we never 
had a war with Germany. We joined the Allies then in 
order to make the world safe for democracy. The inhabit- 
ants of England, Germany, and our own country have 
many common traits; such as, their earnest application, 
to industry; their world-wandering spirit; and their in- 
tense desire for conquest, which in late years has come 
very often to mean victory over material things through 
brain power. It is this last quality, namely, that of in- 
telligence, joined with an unyielding determination to 
master the big problems of industry, that has made Eng- 
land, Germany, and the United States the Three Industrial 
Nations. 







TABLES 




359 


Table I. — Area 


and Population, the United States 


State Area Sq. Mi. 


Pop. 1910 


State Area Sq. Mi. 


Pop. 1910 


Alabama 


5i,998 


2,138,093 


North Dakota 


70,837 


577,056 


Arizona 


113,956 


204,354 


Ohio 


41,040 


4,767,121 


Arkansas 


53,335 


1,574,449 


Oklahoma 


70,057 


1,657,155 


California 


158,297 


2,377,549 


Oregon 


96,699 


672,765 


Colorado 


103,948 


799,024 


Pennsylvania 


45,126 


7,665,111 


Connecticut 


4,965 


1,114,756 


Rhode Island 


1,248 


542,610 


Delaware 


2,37o 


» 202,322 


South Carolina 


30,989 


1,515,400 


Florida 


58,666 


752,619 


South Dakota 


77,615 


583,888 


Georgia 


59,265 


2,609,121 


Tennessee 


42,022 


2,184,789 


Idaho 


84,313 


325,594 


Texas 


265,896 


3,896,542 


Illinois 


56,665 


5,638,591 


Utah 


84,990 


373,351 


Indiana 


36,354 


2,700,876 


Vermont 


9,564 


355,956 


Iowa 


56,147 


2,224,771 


Virginia 


42,627 


2,061,612 


Kansas 


82,158 


1,690,949 


Washington _ 


69,127 


1,141,990 


Kentucky 


40,598 


2,289,905 


West Virginia 


24,170 


1,221,119 


Louisiana 


48,506 


1,656,388 


Wisconsin 


56,066 


2,333,860 


Maine 


33,040 


742,371 


Wyoming 


97,9i4 


145,965 


Maryland 


12,327 


1,295,346 


Part of Gt. Lakes 


61,750 




Massachusetts 


8,266 


3,366,416 








Michigan 
Minnesota 


57,98o 
84,682 


2,810,173 
2,075,708 


Territories, Etc. 




Mississippi 


46,865 


i,797,H4 


District of Columbia 


70 


331,069 


Missouri 


69,420 


3,293,335 


Territory of Alaska 


590,884 


64,356 


Montana 


146,572 


376,053 


Guam 


210 


9,000 


Nebraska 


77,520 


1,192,214 


Territory of Hawaii 


6,449 


191,909 


Nevada 


110,690 


81,875 


Philippine Islands ('03) 


115,026 


7,635,426 


New Hampshire 


9,34i 


430,572 


Porto Rico 


3,435 


1,118,012 


New Jersey 


8,224 


2,537,i67 


Panama Canal Zone 


474 


50,000 


New Mexico 


122,634 


327,301 


Samoa Is., etc. 


77 


6,100 


New York 


49,204 


9,113,614 


Soldiers and Sailors abroad 


55,6o8 


North Carolina 


52,426 


2,206,287 


Grand Total 3 


805,074 


101,102,677 




Largest Cities of 


the United States 








Population, 1910 




Population, 19 10 


New York, N. Y. 




4,766,883 


Oakland, Cal. 




150,174 


Chicago, 111. 




2,185,283 


Worcester, Mass. 




145,986 


Philadelphia, Pa. 




1,549,008 


Syracuse, N. Y. 




137,249 


St. Louis, Mo. 




687,029 


New Haven, Conn. 




133,605 


Boston, Mass.^ 




670,585 


Birmingham, Ala. 




132,685 


Cleveland, Ohio 




560,663 


Memphis, Tenn. 




131,105 


Baltimore, Md. 




558,485 


Scranton, Pa. 




129,867 


Pittsburgh, Pa. 




533,905 


Richmond, Va. 




127,628 


Detroit, Mich. 




465,766 


Paterson, N. J. 




125,600 


Buffalo, N. Y. 




423,715 


Omaha, Neb. 




124,096 


San Francisco, Cal. 




416,912 


Fall River, Mass. 




119,295 


Milwaukee, Wis. 




373,857 


Dayton, Ohio 




116,577 


Cincinnati, Ohio 




363,591 


Grand Rapids, Mich. 




112,571 


Newark, N. J. 




347,469 


Nashville, Tenn. 




110,364 


New Orleans, La. 




339,075 


Lowell, Mass. 




106,294 


Washington, D. C. 




331,069 


Cambridge, Mass. 




104,839 


Los Angeles, Cal. 




319,198 


Spokane, Wash. 




104,402 


Minneapolis, Minn. 




301,408 


Bridgeport, Conn. 




102,054 


Jersey City, N. J. 




267,779 


Albany, N. Y. 




100,253 


Kansas City, Mo. 




248,381 


Hartford, Conn. 




98,915 


Seattle, Wash. 




237,194 


Trenton, N. J. 




96,815 


Indianapolis, Ind. 




233,650 


New -Bedford, Mass. 




96,652 


Providence, R. I. 




224,326 


San Antonio, Tex. 




96,614 


Louisville, Ky. 




223,928 


Reading, Pa. 




96,071 


Rochester, N. Y. 




218,149 


Camden, N. J. 




94,538 


St. Paul, Minn. 




214,744 


Salt Lake City, Utah 




92,777 


Denver, Col. 




213,381 


Dallas, Tex. 




92,104 


Portland, Ore. 




207,214 


Lynn, Mass. 




89,336 


Columbus, Ohio 




181,511 


Springfield, Mass. 




88,926 


Toledo, Ohio 




168,497 


Wilmington, Del. 




87,411 


Atlanta, Ga. 




154,839 


Des Moines, Iowa 




86,368 



360 



TABLES 



Table II. — Leading Exports of United States, Value, Principal 
Countries of Destination. For the Year Ending June, 19 14. 

Thousands 
of Dollars 



Cotton, unmanufactured 


610,475 


United Kingdom 


231,818 


Germany- 


181,892 


France 


73,919 


Cotton, manufactures of 


28,845 


China 


6,096 


Philippine Islands 


5,536 


Copper, manufactures of 


144,896 


Germany- 


46,123 


Netherlands 


26,493 


France 


25,453 


United Kingdom 


22,443 


Meats 


143,262 


United Kingdom 


61,223 


Germany 


19,143 


Iron and steel, manufactures of 


106,560 


Canada 


30,130 


United Kingdom 


9,400 


Wheat 


87,953 


United Kingdom 


26,015 


Netherlands 


19,380 


Belgium 


12,479 


Germany 


10,605 


France 


5,385 


Flour 


54,454 


United Kingdom 


13,806 


Netherlands 


4,670 


Cuba 


4,058 


Hongkong 


4,502 





Thousands 




of Dollars 


Oil, illuminating 


74»5oo 


United Kingdom 


10,007 


Netherlands 


8,849 


China 


6,349 


Japan 


4,757 


Germany 


4,290 


Oil, lubricating, etc. 


27,853 


United Kingdom 


6,469 


France 


3,430 


Germany 


3,204 


Coal 


59,92i 


Canada 


47,210 


Lumber 


57,78i 


United Kingdom 


13,232 


Canada 


10,434 


Tobacco, unmanufactured 


53,964 


United Kingdom 


20,698 


Italy 


6,114 


France 


4,783 


Germany 


4,014 


Agricultural implements 


31,966 


Russia < 


6,496 


Argentina 


4,345 


France 


4,150 


Germany 


3,2i6 


Canada 


3,073 


Automobiles 


26,575 


Canada 


5,920 


United Kingdom 


5,853 



Leading Imports of United States, Value, Principal Countries of 
Origin. For the Year Ending June, 1914. 





Thousands 






Thousands 




of Dollars 






of Dollars 


Coffee 


110,725 


Copper in ore x pigs, 


ingots, etc. 


54,322 


Brazil 


76,016 


Mexico 




14,457 


Columbia 


n,556 


Canada 




7,947 


Mexico 


8,028 


Peru 




6,598 


Venezuela 


6,194 


Chile 




6,126 


Central American countries 


4,944 


Spain 




5,280 


Sugar, cane 


101,366 


Wool, unmanufactured 


52,619 


Cuba 


98,395 


United Kingdom 




19,377 


Philippine Islands 


2,554 


Argentina 




7,563 


Silk, raw- 


97,828 


Australia and New Zealand 


6,936 


Japan 


71,345 


Cattle 




52,182 


China 


15,919 


Argentina 




16,166 


Italy 


8,781 


Canada 




7,133 


Rubber, crude 


71,220 


Mexico 




5,479 


United Kingdom (reexported) 


31,152 


Jute, fabrics of 




42,421 


Brazil 


16,319 


India 




35,273 


Cotton, manufactured and unmanu- 


Tobacco 




35,029 


factured 


70,841 


Cuba 




16,385 


United Kingdom 


16,197 


Turkey 




9,837 


Egypt (raw cotton) 


12,276 


Art works 




35,oio 


Germany 


12,016 


France 




22,332 


France 


11,763 


United Kingdom 




7,937 


Switzerland 


9,67o 


Sisal hemp 
Mexico 




25,861 
22,980 



TABLES 



361 



Table III. — OCEAN STEAMSHIP ROUTES 



From San Francisco to 



City 


Route 


Miles 


City 


Route 


Miles 


Honolulu 


Direct 


2,091 


Sitka 


Direct 


1,302 


Hongkong 


Via Honolulu 


7,030 


Unalaska 


Direct 


2,051 


Yokohama 


Direct 


4,799 


Nome 


Via Unalaska 


2,706 


Apia 


Direct 


4,161 


Mazatlan 


Direct 


1,337 


Auckland 


Via Apia 


5,742 


Acapulco 


Direct 


1,833 


Sydney 


Via Honolulu 


6,5H 


Panama 


Direct 


3,245 


Melbourne 


Via Honolulu 


7,033 


Callao 


Direct 


3,987 


Guam 


Via Honolulu 


5,428 


Valparaiso 


Direct 


5,140 


Manila 


Via Honolulu 


6,934 


Punta Arenas 


Direct 


6,193 


Singapore 


Via Manila 


8,304 


New York 


Via Magellan Strait 


13,135 


Port Townsend 


Direct 


77o 


New York 


Via Panama Canal 


5,262 




From New 


Orleans to 


■ 




City 


Route 


Miles 


City 


Route 


Miles 


Vera Cruz 


Direct 


798 


Valparaiso 


Via Panama Canal 


3,926 


Colon 


Direct 


1,395 


Tampa 


Direct 


474 


San Francisco 


Via Magellan Strait 


I3,5oo 


Havana 


Direct 


601 


San Francisco 


Via Panama Canal 


4,69c 


New York 


Direct 


1,685 


Valparaiso 


Via Magellan Strait 


9,000 


Liverpool 


Direct 


4,625 



From New York to 



City 
Bermuda 
Liverpool 
London 
Havre 
Gibraltar 
Pernambuco 
Rio de Janeiro 
Montevideo 
Punta Arenas 
Punta Arenas 
Valparaiso 
Valparaiso 
San Francisco 
San Francisco 
Port Townsend 
Port Townsend 
Honolulu 
Honolulu 
Melbourne 
Melbourne 



Route 



Direct 

Southern 

Southern 

Southern 

Direct 

Direct 

Direct 

Direct 

Magellan Strait 

Panama Canal 

Magellan Strait 

Panama Canal 

Magellan Strait 

Panama Canal 

Magellan Strait 

Panama Canal 

Magellan Strait 

Panama Canal 

Suez Canal 

Cape of Good Hope 



Miles 
681 
3,i53 
3,245 
3,274 
2,219 
3,698 
4,77o 
5,807 
7,000 
5,967 
8,380 
4,633 

13,135 
5,262 

13,873 
6.002 

13,312 
6,702 

13,009 

12,838 



City 



Route 



Miles 



Melbourne 


Panama Canal 


9,945 


Sydney 


Suez Canal 


I3,47i 


Sydney 


Cape of Good Hope 


13,306 


Sydney 


Panama Canal 


9,691 


Wellington 


Suez Canal 


14,387 


Wellington 


Cape of Good Hope 


14,034 


Wellington 


Panama Canal 


8,522 


Yokohama 


Suez Canal 


13,079 


Yokohama 


Cape of Good Hope 


15,099 


Yokohama 


Panama Canal 


9,677 


Bombay 


Suez Canal 


8,186 


Bombay 


Cape of Good Hope 


n,395 


Bombay 


Panama Canal 


14,982 


Calcutta 


Suez Canal 


9,829 


Calcutta 


Cape of Good Hope 


12,254 


Calcutta 


Panama Canal 


14,165 


Singapore 


Suez Canal 


10,177 


Singapore 


Cape of Good Hope 


12,409 


Singapore 


Panama Canal 


12,522 



INDEX 



Aberdeen, 52. 

Aden, 98. 

Africa, 3, 4, 20, 81-82, 239, 263, 290. 

Agriculture: Australia, 75-76; British 
India, 71-75; Canada, 90-91; Eng- 
land, 48-52; Germany, in, 122, 
128-133; United States, 183-202. 

Alabama, 191, 257, 262, 275, 290, 293. 

Alaska, 252, 263, 268, 269, 270, 343. 

Alfalfa, 189. 

Alps, 299. 

Amazon, 20. 

Amber, 19. 

Animal industries, 50, 51, 132, 133, 223- 
243- 

Appalachian Highland, 177. 

Apples, 204. 

Arctic Ocean, 255. 

Argentina, 196, 224, 232, 239, 290. 

Arizona, 208, 210, 236, 261, 262, 273. 

Arkansas, 189, 191, 216, 237, 262, 285. 

Army, 106, 157. 

Ascension Island, 99. 

Asia, 4, 20. 

Atlanta, 328. 

Australia, 4, 26, 75-78, 224, 232, 239, 
263, 290. 

Austria-Hungary, 4, 49, 199, 231. 

Bahamas, 99. 

Baltic, 19. 

Baltimore, 259, 292, 295, 337. 

Barley, 188. 

Bath, 295. 

Bechuanaland, 81. 

Belfast, 2, 47, 55. 

Belgium, 42, 262, 332. 

Berlin, 147. 

Bermudas, 99. 

Birmingham, England, 57; United 

States, 260, 293, 328. 
Bombay, 75. 



Boots and shoes, 240. 

Boston, 234, 245, 291, 318, 336. 

Brazil, 2, 193, 196. 

Bremen, 151, 152. 

Bristol, 43. 

British Africa, 81-84. 

British coaling stations, 98. 

British Empire, 35-107. 

British Guiana, 84, 85. 

British India, 71-75, 193, 196. 

Brockton, 240, 298. 

Brussels, 4. 

Buffalo, 231, 259, 288, 293, 301, 317, 318, 

325. 
Butter and cheese, 229. 
By-products, 185, 188, 195, 218, 235, 

240, 255, 276, 281. 

Cables, 20, 21, 29, 95. 

Calais, 42. 

Calcutta, 75. 

California, 25, 186, 188, 199, 205, 206, 

207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 217, 225, 

233, 237, 263, 289. 
Camden, 234. 
Canada, 85-97, 267, 273. 
Canals, 58, 60, 142, 187, 311, 312, 317. 
Canal Zone, 346. 
Cape of Good Hope, 81. 
Cape Town, 83. 
Caribbean Sea, 21, 346. 
Carpets, 234. 

Cascade Mountains, 12, 178, 217. 
Central Plain, 178. 
Central States, 183, 186, 188, 189, 216, 

231, 288, 322. 
Ceylon, 19, 98. 
Charleston, 193. 
Chemnitz, 136. 
Chesapeake Bay, 48. 
Chester, 234. 
Cheyenne, 225. 



&2 



INDEX 



363 



Chicago, 187, 225, 231, 241, 259, 288, 

291, 293, 298, 317, 322-324. 
Chile, 261. 

China, 3, 4, 196, 292. 
Cincinnati, 231, 241, 259, 288, 291, 298, 

316, 328. 
Citrous fruits, 208. 
Clermont, 22. 

Cleveland, 231, 259, 293, 317, 325. 
Climate, 9. 

Coal, 53, 134, 274-280. 
Coast Ranges, 178, 217. 
Coastwise trade, 318. 
Cohoes, 292. 
Coke, 277. 
Cologne, 136, 152. 
Colonial possessions: England, 70-100; 

Germany, 156-157 ; United States, 

343-352. 
Colorado, 25, 199, 205, 226, 233, 260, 

261, 263, 272, 275. 
Commerce : Australia, 78 ; England, 

57-61; Germany, 115, 140-147; 

India, 73-74; New Zealand, 79; 

United States, 305-342. 
Connecticut, 200, 246, 284, 292. 
Conservation, 104, 105, 127, 164-166, 353, 

354- 
Copper, 260. 

Cordilleran Highland, 178. 
Corn, 183-186. 
Cotton, 190—196. 
Cripple Creek, 272. 
Cuba, 2, 343-345- 
Culebra, 346. 
Cyprus, 98. 

Dairying and dairy products, 226-230. 

Dallas, 328. 

Dawson, 269. 

Delaware Bay, 248. 

Denver, 272, 327. 

Deserts, 25, 210, 211. 

Detroit, 259, 317, 325. 

Domestic animals, 50, 133, 223-243. 

Dover, 42. 

Dresden, 150. 

East Indies, 199. 

Edmonton, 96. 

Education, 106, 165-167, 201, 242,255,355. 

Egypt, 4, 26, 83-84, 98, 193, 196. 



Elberfeld, 136. 

Electrical industries, 139, 301, 302. 

Electric roads, 328. 

El Paso, 328. 

England, 35-107. 

English Channel, 35, 299. 

Erie Canal, 311, 312. 

Factories, 104-105, 116, 117, 354. 

Falkland Islands, 99. 

Fisheries, 18, 91, 52, 244-256. 

Flax, 196. f 

Florida, 18, 208, 237, 248, 285. 

Forests, 31, 32, 46, 87, 127, 214-222. 

Forest Service, 221. 

Fort Worth, 328. 

France, 2, 42, 49, 199, 292. 

Fruits, 66, 132, 203-213. 

Galveston, 193, 318, 340. 

Gary, 259, 293. 

Georgia, 191, 192, 206, 212, 262, 285, 290. 

Germany, 4, 42, 108-171, 231, 262, 332. 

Gibraltar, 98. 

Glasgow, 43, 47, 55, 68. 

Gloucester, 244. 

Goats, 235. 

Grand Rapids, 296. 

Grapefruit, 208. 

Grapes, 206. 

Great Britain, 35-107, 332. 

Grimsby, 45, 52. 

Guam, 349. 

Halifax, 95. 

Hamburg, 151. 

Hamilton, 95. 

Harbors, 45, 67, 151, 334-340. 

Harwich, 52. 

Hawaiian Islands, 2, 199, 347~349 

Hay and forage, 189. 

Holland, 1, 27, 39, 40, 42, 332. 

Hong Kong, 99. 

Honolulu, 347. 

Horses, 50, 237. 

Houston, 193. 

Hudson Bay, 93. 

Hull, 43, 52. 

Idaho, 25, 199, 233, 250, 261, 273. 
Illinois, 183, 186, 225, 226, 231, 236, 275, 
281, 284, 286, 289, 293, 296, 297, 322. 



3 6 4 



INDEX 



India, 26, 71-75. 

Indiana, 183, 186, 226, 231, 236, 274, 281, 

283, 298. 
Indianapolis, 231, 259, 288, 327. 
Indian Ocean, 19, 20. 
Industrial centers, 61-68, 147-153, 286- 

302, 315-318, 322-328. 
Inventions, 55. 

Iowa, 183, 205, 225, 226, 231, 236, 275. 
Ireland, 49. 

Iron industries, 53, 57, 116, 134, 257-260. 
Irrigation, 25, 26, 210. 
Italy, 4, 26, 292. 

Jamaica, 99. 
Japan, 261. 

Kaiser Wilhelm Canal, 142. 

Kansas, 183, 226, 229, 231, 236, 282, 

283. 
Kansas City, 225, 231, 237, 288, 316,326. 
Kentucky, 183, 200, 205, 216, 275, 285. 
Keokuk, 302. 
Kimberley, 83. 
Klondike, 267. 

Lakes, Great Bear, 87 ; Great Slave, 87 ; 

Winnipeg, 87 ; Great Lakes, 244, 248, 

258, 261. 
Leadville, 272. 
Leather, 4, 241. 
Leeds, 55. 
Leicester, 55. 
Leipzig, 5, 140, 152. 
Lemons, 208. 
Lexington, 237. 
Limes, 208. 

Liverpool, 43, 44, 55, 64-66. 
London, 43, 44, 61-64. 
Long Island Sound, 248. 
Los Angeles, 210, 301. 
Louisiana, 189, 198, 208, 216. 
Louisville, 316. 
Lowell, 233. 
Lynn, 241, 298. 

Mail service, 29 ; Germany, 144. 
Maine, 203, 215, 246, 284, 289. 
Mainz, 153. 
Malta, 98. 

Manchester: England, 55, 56, 60, 66; 
United States, 234. 



Manufacturing : in general, 28 ; British 

India, 73; Canada, 93; Germany, 

116, 117, 135-140; Great Britain, 

54-57; United States, 286-304. 
Maryland, 289. 
Massachusetts, 207, 246, 284, 286, 290, 

296, 297, 322. 
Mediterranean, 20, 21. 
Memphis, 193, 315. 
Mexico, 1, 261, 263, 273; Gulf, 21. 
Michigan, 188, 199, 203, 204, 205, 207, 

215, 226, 233, 257. 
Middle Atlantic States, 189, 247, 288. 
Milk, 226. 

Milwaukee, 231, 288, 317. 
Mining: in general, 13, 28; Australia, 

77 ; Canada, 91 ; England, 53, 54 ; 

Germany, 133-135 ; United States, 

257-285. 
Minneapolis, 187, 288, 326. 
Minnesota, 186, 188, 196, 215, 225, 226, 

229, 257. 
Missouri, 183, 186, 205, 216, 225, 226, 

231, 236, 261, 262, 296. 
Mobile, 193. 
Montana, 190, 196, 226, 233, 250, 261, 

263, 273. 
Montgomery, 193, 328. 
Montreal, 95. 
Mules, 237. 
Munich, 125, 150. 

Natal, 81. 

Navy, 106, 160. 

Nebraska, 183, 186, 225, 226, 229, 231. 

Netherlands, 1, 27, 39, 40, 42, 332. 

Nevada, 263, 273. 

New Bedford, 254. 

Newcastle, 47, 59. 

New England States, 189, 244, 290, 291. 

Newfoundland, 97, 246. 

New Hampshire, 215. 

New Jersey, 207, 247, 289, 292, 297, 298. 

New Mexico, 233. 

New Orleans, 193, 315, 318, 339. 

New York (state), 203, 204, 207, 215, 

225, 226, 247, 257, 283, 284, 286, 289, 

291, 292, 296, 297, 298. 
New York (city), 234, 241, 259, 288, 

291, 296, 298, 299, 318, 334-336. 
New Zealand, 78-81, 239. 
Niagara Falls, 32. 



INDEX 



3 6 5 



Nome, 269. 

North Carolina, 200, 290. 
North Dakota, 186, 196. 
North Sea, 21, 35. 

Oats, 188. 

Ohio, 183, 186, 205, 207, 226, 231, 233, 
236, 275, 280, 284, 293, 296, 297, 298. 
Oklahoma, 183, 216, 282. 
Olives, 209. 

Omaha, 225, 231, 237, 288, 316, 326. 
Orange Free State, 81. 
Oregon, 25, 211, 233, 249, 262. 
Ostriches, 3, 81-83, 236. 
Ottawa, 95. 

Pacific Ocean, 21. 

Panama Canal, 21, 312-314. 

Paris, 5. 

Parliament, 101, 102. 

Paterson, 295. 

Peaches, 205. 

Pearls, 19. 

Pennsylvania, 188, 203, 204, 207, 275, 

283, 284, 286, 291, 292, 293, 296, 297, 

298,322. 
Pensacola, 193. 
Peru, 196. 
Petrograd, 5, 143. 
Philadelphia, 234, 240, 259, 291, 292, 

295, 296, 298, 318, 336. 
Philippine Islands, 340-352. 
Pittsburgh, 259, 282, 293, 295, 315. 
Plums, 206. 
Plymouth, 52. 
Porto Rico, 345-346. 
Portsmouth, 43. 
Potatoes, 131, 203. 
Poultry, 236. 
Providence, 234, 295. 
1 Provincetown, 245. 
Pueblo, 260. 
Puget Sound, 249, 338. 

Quebec, 91. 

Railways: Canada, 94; Cape-to-Cairo, 
83; England, 58; United States, 267, 
319-322. 

Recreations, 161, 356—357. 

Refrigeration, 239. 

Rhodesia, 81. 



Rice, 189. 

Rivers: uses, -32; Columbia, 186, 
249 ; Danube, 141 ; Elbe, 42, 141 ; 
Hudson, 187, 310; Kern, 301; Klon- 
dike, 267 ; Mackenzie, 87 ; Missis- 
sippi, 20, 244, 302, 310; Nelson, 87; 
Nile, 20; Oder, 141; Ohio, 216, 310; 
Rhine, 20, 42, 136, 141, 142; St. 
Lawrence, 87, 317; Sacramento, 178; 
San Joaquin, 178; Saskatchewan, 
87; Seine, 42; Thames, 58; Tyne, 
59; Vistula, 141; Willamette, 178; 
Yukon, 87, 267. 

Roads, 306-310. 

Rochester, 240. 

Rocky Mountains, 12, 178, 214, 216. 

Russia, 4, 199; 231. 

Sahara, 26. 

Salmon, 240-252. 

Salt Lake City, 327. 

Samoa, 349. 

San Francisco, 254, 295, 338. 

San Juan, 346. 

Savannah, 193. 

Scotland, 3, 49. 

Scranton, 295. 

Seal fishing, 252-253. 

Seattle, 267, 270, 338. 

Seaweeds, 18. 

Sheep raising, 3, 51, 133, 231-235. 

Sheffield, 3, 57. 

Shreveport, 193. 

Sierra Nevada, 12, 178, 217. 

Silk, 3, 292. 

Singapore, 98. 

Sioux City, 225. 

Soils, 8, 201. 

South Africa, 81-83, 239, 263, 290. 

South Carolina, 189, 191, 192, 285, 290. 

South Dakota, 26, 186, 196, 263. 

Southern States, 189, 198, 203, 205, 216, 

237, 248, 290. 
South Georgia, 99. 
Spain, 3, 26, 232, 261. 
Spanish Armada, 39. 
Sponges, 18, 248. 
St. John, 95. 
St. Joseph, 288. 
St. Louis, 187, 225, 231, 241, 288, 293, 

298, 315, 324- 
St. Paul, 326. 



3 66 

Steamships, 21, 22, 23, 40-41- 

Stockyards, 238. 

Suez Canal, 21, 84. 

Suffrage, 102, 156. 

Sugar, 2, 131, 132, 197-200. 

Swamps, 27. 

Swine, 50, 133, 230, 231. 

Switzerland, 4, 292, 332. 

Telegraphs, 29, 329; wireless, 31. 
Telephones, 29, 330. 
Tennessee, 216, 262, 285. 
Texas, 183, 189, 191, 216, 225, 226, 

262, 282. 
Textiles, 55-57, 136, 289-293. 
Tobacco, 200, 201. 
Toledo, 317, 325- 
Toronto, 95. 
Toys, 4, 127. 
Transvaal, 81, 83. 
Trinidad, 99- 
Troy, 292. 
Turkey, 1, 235- 

Union of South Africa, 81, 83. 
United States, 172-358. 



INDEX 



237, 



Utah, 199, 233, 261, 262, 263, 273- 

Vancouver, 96. 
Vegetables, 203. 
Vermont, 215, 284. 
Vicksburg, 193- 
Virginia, 200. 205. 

Wales, 58. 

Washington (state), 186, 205, 212, 217, 

250, 289. , , 

Western States, 188, 189, 206, 211, 226, 

249, 267. 
West Virginia, 216, 275, 283. 
Whaling, 253. 

Wheat, 49, 73, 77, 92, i86-i»». 
Winnipeg, 96. 
Wireless telegraph, 31. 
Working men, 104-105, 162-164, 239. 
Working women and children, 164, 354- 
Wyoming, 226, 233, 275, 280. 

I Yarmouth, 5 2 - 

Zinc, 261. 
I Zones, 9-1 1. 



